Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness Act VI
by Lord Daemon
Summary: Based off the Anime - Mankind has declared war on the monster world, Tsukune is struggling to control his vampire urges while kept in isolation, and a great evil is preparing to conquer everything. Moka and the group must now try to prevent war between the two worlds while defending against the growing darkness that approaches them all. Contains OC, violence, and sexual themes.
1. Jailbreak

Inside a break room three figures were seated at a table drinking coffee, the men all clothed in tactical gear with the letters HDA written on the shoulders with red ink. They had their pistols clipped to their hips and their assault rifles set down on a table near the door into the room, the three men having dull expressions as they were on their break. One of them was watching a television that was mounted on the wall while another was reading a magazine. The third one was just looking at his drink with a blank expression as they waited for their next shift to begin.

"Why don't we just execute all these things now instead of keeping them under lock and guard? Seriously, just put a bullet in all their heads and be done with it." the one looking at his drink muttered.

"I hear you, seems like a waste of our efforts keeping them alive like this. Should just kill them all while we can." the other said as he casually flipped the page in his magazine.

"Maybe they're wanted for experiments or research, who knows. Doesn't matter, they'll all be dead soon." the third said as he flipped through the channels on the T.V. with the remote. He cycled through a news report of the crowds outside the HDA command center cheering on the public execution of a group of monsters later that night, another news report covering the destruction of a high school and neighboring area of a busy city from a recent monster attack, another report showing the human governments talking about the recent turn of events and declaring war on the monster world, another report on how Gonzo still hasn't revived a beloved anime series even after the critical success of an upcoming fanfiction spreading across the web, and another report about a recent monster encounter that involved a carjacking in a tunnel.

"Just a waste of time if you ask me." the one looking at his drink said with a grunt.

"They'll all get what's coming to them for what they did, every last one of them." the second man said simply.

"Can't wait to see that execution tonight, I hear it's going to be on all the networks." the third said glancing to his comrades.

"Yep, and those monsters they're executing are the same ones that supposedly saved us all before. About time they'll get what's coming to them like the rats they are." the second said in agreement.

"I wish I could be part of that firing squad myself, I'd love to be the one to send the message to all their kind, that we're the big fish in this world." the first said with a smirk. The third man chuckled and nodded.

"I'd just love the chance to kill those damned things myself. I'm sick of just guarding them like this, what I wouldn't give for the chance to actually take down one of those goddamned-"

Suddenly the side wall of the room blasted apart violently, with concrete chunks and plaster flying off as the men were thrown off to the side by the force. The table was annihilated as a strange wave of torn space sliced down through the wall and ripped it to pieces. Dust and debris flew about as the men scrambled back to their feet and looked with wide eyes at the sight.

"What the hell was that?" one of the men said with surprise.

From the dust cloud a small girl ran into the room. She was a young girl dressed in white tennis shoes, white jeans, and a blue t-shirt. She had short blue hair and green eyes, and wore a white headband as well. She was holding a baseball bat that had a smiley face on it as the dust billowed around her. She looked over to the men as they just stared at her.

"What…a kid?" one of them said. The dust then cleared a bit behind her, revealing butterfly wings that fluttered a bit. They were brightly colored pink wings with green trimmings and light blue spots.

"Wings. She has wings! She's a monster!" one of them said grabbing his sidearm. Suddenly an ice shard flew through the dust cloud and struck him in the shoulder, the man stumbling back into the table with the rifles on them and falling to the ground as the table was knocked over. The man yelled out as he grabbed the shard and tried to pull it out as the other men looked to the cloud of dust and saw another young girl walking into the room. She was a younger girl as well, only slightly older than the butterfly girl. She had white shoes, short black pants that went down to her knees, a black t-shirt with a gray button-down shirt left undone over it. She had long purple hair that went past her shoulders and clear blue eyes, the girl having a stern expression as she rolled her lollipop around in her mouth slightly. Behind her she had feathered wings that appeared to be made of ice, the angelic looking wings shimmering frost behind them as the girl had her hand outstretched towards the men still.

"It's another one! It's a monster attack!" one of the men yelled out as they both reached for their sidearms. The snow angel growled and waved her arm, in doing so created a chilled blast of air that flew over the soldiers. Frost formed on their uniforms as they shielded their eyes from the flurries. One of the men grabbed his gun and aimed at them before the butterfly girl vanished and instantly appeared in front of him, with her bat finishing her swing as the man's gun and hand was annihilated by a searing rift through time. She swung her bat back around and struck the man against his head, the soldier tumbling to the ground screaming in pain as the snow angel raced forward with her hand formed into an ice claw, the girl then slicing the other man's hand along with his gun apart with a yell. The soldier screamed in pain before she swung her arm and launched out an ice shard at the man's throat. The blade struck through the neck in a flash, the man coughing out blood and dropping down next to his comrade that just pulled the ice shard out from his shoulder. The other soldier screamed in pain as his hand was missing, the man reaching for his rifle on the ground with frustration. The butterfly girl growled and raced up to him, the girl then swinging her bat down and crushing the other man's hand. He screamed as she swung her bat back down on his head with a loud crack, the man dropping down as blood dripped from his ears. The remaining soldier yelled as he grabbed a rifle on the ground and aimed it at the snow angel, the girl looking with a glare at him as the butterfly girl looked to him with frustration.

"Goddamn monsters!" the man yelled as he aimed at the snow girl. He pulled the trigger just as the butterfly girl gripped her bat tightly. The gun fired a round out with a bang, at the same time the girl instantly appeared next to the man with her bat held down to the side. At the same time the bullet that was traveling towards the snow angel and the gun were destroyed by the girl's swings through time. The shattered weapon flew off to the side as the man stared with shock at the two monster children. The snow angel growled and walked towards him as the butterfly girl glared at him with discontent.

"What…what the hell are you?" he asked shakily. The snow girl raised her claw as the man stared with wide eyes.

"A pissed off wife." Arial said as she sliced down, the girl striking her frozen claw down the man's face and through the skull. He let out a hoarse cry as he dropped down while Complica looked around at the room.

"Well…we're in. Now what do we do?" she asked looking back to her friend. Arial glanced behind them and nodded.

"We find my Dark, and free him." she said as another figure walked into the room from the receding dust cloud. It was an older teenager, one who had blue eyes and blue hair that went down to her shoulders with a polka-dotted ribbon tied in the back. She wore a long sleeved, knee-length white dress with red polka-dots and a red ribbon on her chest along with white dress shoes. She had a small sketchpad clipped to her hip as she walked in with a curious glance around the room. Behind her feathered wings were extended out, the girl looking around at the destroyed break room with the three dead humans then to the two monster children.

"What? They were in our way." Arial said with a scoff.

"They were going to kill us. We had to defend ourselves, right?" Complica said worriedly. Sun nodded a bit and shrugged, then glanced to the door out of the room.

"C'mon, we need to get Dark and his friends out of here." Arial said running towards the door. Sun nodded then glanced to Complica, the girl gripping her bat worriedly. She looked to the silent siren as the girl smiled a bit at her.

"Are we going to get in trouble for hurting the humans like this? I don't want to be a murderer." she said worriedly. Sun grabbed her sketchpad and wrote something down, the siren choosing not to use her voice in fear that she might harm the chronofly angel. She showed the pad to her with a calm expression.

We'll do what we must to save the innocent monsters here, and then we'll do the same to save your sister.

Complica looked at the pad worriedly and nodded with a quiet whimper.

"Luna…" she said looking down, the girl fearful what may have become of her sister in the darker world. Sun wrote down something else as Arial popped her head back into the room.

"Let's go you guys! C'mon!" she yelled out. Sun glanced to her then showed Complica the pad again.

You won't be a murderer for saving the innocent Complica, remember that.

Complica nodded and looked down with a worried expression.

"I'll try." she said softly.

"Hey!" Arial yelled out with frost forming around the ground below her. Sun and Complica looked to her then ran over to join the impatient snow angel.

"Let's get going, if we don't bust them out of here nobody will." Arial said as the three girls ran down the hall in search of the imprisoned monsters that were somewhere inside the building.

* * *

Gunfire echoed out into the air as HDA soldiers open fired on an incoming truck, the vehicle being one of theirs as it was speeding down the street toward the HDA command center. The crowds of human spectators and supporters ran away from the scene as several soldiers fired their rifles at the truck, the bullets striking the paneling and glass of the reinforced transport yet not slowing it down. The truck raced by the soldiers and crashed through the metal gate into the compound, the vehicle running through the area towards a lowered ramp into an underground parking garage that had the large doors lowered still. Guards on the inside of the concrete barrier surrounding the compound fired on the truck before it raced down the ramp and crashed through the doors into the building. The truck raced into the parking area of the structure, the large garage having several other parked HDA trucks and SUVs off to one side and multiple support pillars around the area. There was a check-in office to the side, and a few more rows of HDA vehicles parked around the structure. Several HDA soldiers and personal watched with surprise as the vehicle drove quickly through the garage towards the end of the area, the truck then crashing into another truck as it tried to pull out. The two collided and the intruding vehicle flipped onto its side as it tore through the front engine of the other vehicle, with two surprised humans watching as the other vehicle tumbled onto its side and careened through the garage with sparks flying from the ground behind it. The vehicle spun around a bit and slammed into another truck parked down by the end of the garage, the downed truck facing the group of soldiers as it lay in front of a row of parked HDA vehicles. The humans stared at it with surprise as soldiers were running in from the outside entrance ramp.

"Intruders! Stop them!" one of them yelled out. Other HDA soldiers in the area armed their rifles and ran towards the downed truck while other personal ran into the adjacent check-in office and sounded the alarm. Sirens started going off as red flashing lights lit up around the large garage.

"Open fire!" one of them called out, and the group of soldiers fired their rifles at the downed vehicle. Bullets riddled the top part of the vehicle as it laid on its side while the hood of the engine started smoking. Gunfire echoed out with the sirens as the HDA soldiers fired their rifles at the truck with focused expressions. After a while the soldiers stopped and kept their aim on the truck with a careful eye. Two of them ran towards the vehicle with their weapons kept at the ready, both of them examining the truck as other soldiers kept on guard. The sirens echoed out inside the concrete parking area as the two soldiers looked into the front of the vehicle, both of them seeing nothing but cracked glass from the windshield. One of them kicked in the glass and shattered it to reveal nobody in the front seats. They then ran towards the back of the truck, the two keeping against the top part of the vehicle as they readied themselves. One quickly leaned around the corner and looked with a careful eye, the man seeing the back door to the truck open and hanging off its hinges. The two soldiers slowly crept around the truck as the others nearby approached the vehicle. One of them grabbed the door and swung it up, the two looking inside to seeing the back part of the truck empty.

"It's empty, nobody's inside." one of them called out to the others.

"It didn't drive here on its own, search the area right now." another called out as the soldiers looked around carefully.

"Who the hell would be stupid enough to try to break into here?" one said looking around as he kept his gun ready to fire.

The two soldiers in the back of the truck looked around carefully, then down as black tentacles whipped out from the ground below from dark rifts. One of them grabbed a soldier by the leg while the other was grabbed around the waist.

"What the HELL?" one yelled as he was whipped around wildly by the leg, the man screaming as the others watched with wide eyes. The other soldier was swung around as he screamed, right before the man was slammed into the ground and splattered into a bloody mess. The other man screamed as he was swung around, then was whipped around and slammed into the roof of the downed truck. His body crushed in the metal slightly with a crunching sound as his leg was ripped off by the tentacle and thrown away.

"What the fuck is that?" another soldier yelled looking to the two dead men, with one a bloody mess on the ground as the other slowly dropped down from the truck and collapsed dead from sheer impact to the metal chassis.

Suddenly the truck rumbled a bit then seemed to tumble into a roll towards the soldiers. The men jumped aside as two were crushed by the rolling vehicle, the truck crashing to a halt as the men looked to it with wide eyes.

"How…what is going on here?" one said looking back to where the truck just was. From the row of parked trucks a figure walked out from between the vehicles. Ruby was holding her wand out still from having used her magic to throw the truck into a tumble, then fired out a blast of magical energy. The bolt of power shot through one of the soldiers and struck into the truck's engine, the vehicle blasting apart behind the group of humans as one of their comrades dropped back dead.

"Monsters! Kill them!" one of the men yelled out as they fired their rifles at the witch. The bullets struck a flickering wall of light before the woman as she smirked at the humans. The men looked with surprise as two figures walked out from behind her. They were both dressed in Yokai Academy uniforms and were the same height. One had short black hair and yellow eyes, while the other had long blonde hair and black eyes.

"Nice throw Ms. Ruby." Apoch said as had her hand held out, the witch focusing her magic to keep the barrier she erected before them in place still.

"And nice shot too." Astreal said as she aimed her hand at the soldiers. Her arm lit up slightly as she focused her magic, the witch then firing out a red blast of energy that struck through the skull of one of the soldiers and threw him back into a tumble.

"Magical casters, switch to explosive rounds!" a soldier yelled out. The men switched their rifles to grenade launcher mode and fired out four rounds towards the witches. Apoch held out her hand along with Astreal, the sisters focusing their magic as Ruby held out her wand. The explosives struck the barriers and exploded into a powerful blast, with the concrete above and below them cracking severely. The three witches stumbled back from the blasts as Apoch tried to keep her barrier standing, the witch's shield the only one that remained after that forceful attack. The ceiling above started to rumble as the girls looked up with surprise. A large chunk of concrete broke free then dropped down towards them as they screamed. It neared them then slammed into another barrier above the girls, the three looking at the chunk of the ceiling as it was suspended above them. The soldiers stared at it with wide eyes then looked to see another figure walking up to the girls.

"Mind if I lend a hand?" Leon asked, the mimic mage using Apoch's barrier to hold up the debris. He was dressed in worn tennis shoes, frayed ended blue jean shorts, a white t-shirt with a Hawaii flower style short sleeve button-down shirt over it that was left undone. His light brown hair was set in poofy spikes as his brown eyes watched the human soldiers carefully. Astreal smiled at her boyfriend as he walked up to them, the boy having his hand held up as he copied Apoch's shield from witnessing it earlier.

"Nice catch Leon." she said softly. Apoch looked at her own barrier being cast above them with wonder then to the mage with a smile. A soldier grabbed his radio as the men watched the monsters with caution.

"This is the parking garage, we've got monsters down here. I repeat, we've got monsters breaking into the building!" he shouted out.

From behind the monsters another figure walked out to them from between two parked trucks. He had a bit less of a physical build than the previous boy, this one having pale blue hair that was spiked up and trimmed roughly around his neck along with his front bangs being slightly longer. He had black steel tipped leather boots, black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black and red checkered jacket over it that was left undone. His deep blue eyes looked up at the large chunk of debris as the flickering wall of light kept it up, then smiled amusingly at his friend.

"See, now you're just showing off. I mean seriously, lifting heavy weights in front of your girlfriend, c'mon man." Render said with a laugh. Leon smirked and shrugged as Astreal giggled a bit. Apoch smiled a bit at her new boyfriend as he walked up to the group.

"What's this, is that another one?" a soldier said as they aimed their guns at them still. The boy glanced to Leon then back to the soldiers with a playful smile.

"Well, no reason why you get to have all the fun man." he said holding his hands together. A blue light flashed between them then swirled around him quickly, the group of monsters looking at their friend as a bright light engulfed him. It flashed then vanished, revealing the boy standing there with three times the muscle mass as before. Apoch blushed a bit at seeing her boyfriend's fighting form as he held his hands behind him to his sides. A bright glow came from them, then he slowly moved them forward. As he did blades seemed to form from the light out of thin air, the boy bringing his hands all the way forward and then grabbing the hilts of his two summoned weapons. The blade in his left hand was a long sword that was a metallic blue and green, the sword's tip pointed as the handle had a few small red gems in it. The one in his right hand was the same length as the other, this one being angular with a metallic red. The sword's tip was pointed as well while the handle had a few small blue gems in it. The boy spun the blades around casually then smirked at the soldiers.

"He's one of them too! Fire!" a soldier yelled out as they took aim. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from the side between two other parked trucks, the bolt zapping through them and causing them to jerk about before dropping to their knees. From the side a man walked out with his hand outstretched towards them. He was the same age and height as Ruby, the warlock wearing gray boots, dark pants, a red belt, and a black shirt with a black cape. He had dark hair and black eyes as he watched the soldiers cough and waver a bit.

"No you don't, just stand down and we'll- …holy shit, what the hell?" he said looking around at seeing the dead soldiers nearby. The others walked over towards him as Leon let his magic drop, and in doing so let the concrete debris slam into the ground behind them.

"What is this? We're not here to kill them, just to detain them!" Razico said looking at the group with surprise.

"Really? I thought we were ok with killing them, I mean Ceal took out the first two pretty brutally." Ruby said looking back to the splattered remains of the first two fatalities. Razico looked to them and growled.

"What the hell? We're not here to make monsters look like murderers! I thought before we jumped out of the truck we all agreed _not_ to kill anyone!" he yelled out.

"I never agreed to such a thing hunter." a voice said from nearby. The group looked over to seeing two boys walking towards them from between two other trucks. One was dressed in black tennis shoes, black jeans, and a simple black t-shirt. He had short black hair and blue eyes, the boy glancing to the soldiers that were trying to stand again. He held out his left hand, which was reptilian and covered in black scales, and dark rifts opened up around the human soldiers. Black tentacles whipped out and ensnared them, then ripped them to pieces with screams and bloody crunches as the boy showed no expression at all. Next to him another boy was staring at the sight with shock. He was about the same age and height as the others, this one having short messy red hair with brown eyes. He was wearing white tennis shoes, blue jeans with holes ripped open at the knees, a white t-shirt, and the green Yokai Academy jacket that was left undone.

"Why did you do that?" Gabriel cried out gripping his hair. Ceal rolled his eyes as they walked up to the group.

"They shot at your witch, yet you still wish to spare them? In case you haven't noticed they're going to try to kill us, the humans already despise monsters. There's no need to hold back while we're here." the boy said simply.

From nearby two other figures ran out from between two other trucks. Kokoa was dressed in her usual outfit from school as her pet bat flew nearby her, the familiar following her mistress on her mission to rescue her sister and friends. Next to her Gin was wearing his usual outfit from the academy as well, the wolf looking back from where they came then over to the group with a smirk.

"Hey, we found a way in- what the hell?" he said looking around at the dead humans.

"I thought we weren't killing anybody, what's all this?" Kokoa cried out looking around at everything.

"Hey, don't yell at me, I never got a chance to do anything yet. I just brought out my toys to play with, I'm innocent here." Render said shaking his head.

"You still look very handsome and daring Render." Apoch said softly with a smile, the boy glancing to her with a smirk at that.

"I…only fired because Ms. Ruby did." Astreal said looking to the elder witch.

"I told you I thought we were ok with doing that, Ceal smeared two humans all over the pavement and the side of our truck." the woman said looking to Ceal.

"Have you lost it? We look bad enough as it is, we don't need to add anything else against us!" Razico yelled out at the boy. The catalyst mage glanced to him with a raised eyebrow.

"You wanted me to help save your friends did you not? That's what I'm doing. Did you honestly believe we could get them out of here without having to spill blood?" he said simply.

"Yes! That's what I was sincerely hoping for!" Gabriel cried out. He looked to the humans with frustration and shook his head.

"Dammit I'm supposed to be watching over mankind, not aiding in their slaughter." he said looking back to the group.

"Times change angel." Ceal said glancing to the boy.

"Holy shit, you tore them to bloody pieces." Kokoa said looking at the humans that Ceal ravaged with his necro magic. Kou landed on her shoulder and stared at the remains of the humans with wide eyes.

"We're supposed to be the good guys here!" Gin shouted out at the boy. Ceal glanced to him then around.

"Don't tell me that wolf, tell them." he said as soldiers ran in from all around them and aimed their rifles. Ruby held up her wand and formed a purplish dome around the group as bullets started flying wildly. The rounds struck the shield repeatedly as the group looked around at the soldiers trying to kill them.

"Um, I don't think they're up for listening to us." Render said glancing to the group.

"We can't kill them, they're just misguided humans." Gabriel said worriedly.

"Misguided and trying to turn us into bloody bullet bags. I hate to admit it, but Ceal's right; we're not getting through here trying to be pacifists." Leon said shaking his head.

"I can't get human blood on my hands, I'm supposed to be their guardian." Gabriel said with concern. Ceal held out his hand before the angel grabbed it.

"You can't hurt them!" he cried out. The mage glanced to him with narrowed eyes.

"Two choices angel…" he said as the group glanced to him.

"One, we kill those that stand in our way and save your friends. Or two, I kill you and then we kill those that stand in our way and save your friends." he said coldly. The angel looked at him worriedly then around as the humans kept firing at the group, the bullets bouncing off the shield as Ruby held her wand up. A few grenade rounds flew over and blasted the shield, the witch holding the flickering barrier up as she strained her magic.

"Either way, blood will be spilled here today angel. It's either ours, or theirs. What's it going to be?" Ceal said with a bit of discontent. Gabriel slowly let go of his hand and looked around.

"Is there really no other way of getting them out of here?" he asked worriedly. Razico looked around with frustration then to Ruby, the witch looking at him with concern.

"Dammit…" Kokoa said looking down.

"Is it right?" Gin asked softly.

Razico looked around at the soldiers with frustration as his clenched his fists.

"Dammit…we're not bad monsters." he said shaking his head.

"Whoever said we were bad?" Ceal said simply. The group looked to him as he waved his reptilian hand, and in doing so several dark tentacles came forth from the ground through small rifts. The limbs whipped around and grabbed several soldiers around the waists and shoulders, the men looking with surprise as they tried firing at the dark appendages from below. A few shots got a tentacle to recede back into the ground with a ghostly groan before more came from the ground.

"We're just monsters hunter, monsters who aren't ready to die yet." the boy said as he snapped his fingers. The limbs then ripped apart the soldiers violently, with the remains being thrown around in bloody pieces. The humans screamed and cried out in agony as their comrades watched with shock at the sight, the soldiers then resuming their efforts to gun down the intruding monsters. The mage glanced to the others as they looked from the massacred soldiers to him.

"You want to save your friends? Well it's their lives or these humans', plain in simple. What's it going to be?" he asked firmly. The group looked to each other then to the surrounding soldiers.

"I can't…I just can't go against my job as their guardian." Gabriel said worriedly.

"You already did angel." Ceal said glancing to him. Gabriel looked to him with surprise as Ceal shrugged.

"You didn't stop me from killing them." he said simply. Gabriel looked at him with frustration then to the humans that Ceal tore apart with his magic. Ceal glanced to Razico with a raised eyebrow, the warlock looking from him to the soldiers that were firing at the magical barrier. The caster breathed out then looked to Ruby, the witch nodding at him a bit.

"This isn't like it was with Fairy Tale, they're not trying to destroy the world. They're only doing what they think is right." she said softly. She then looked to the humans with a careful eye.

"However, if we don't act now then our friends will be put to death. Given that's our situation…" she said glancing to Astreal. The girl nodded then held out her hand towards the soldiers, a bright glow building her wrist as she narrowed her eyes.

"We have no choice." the girl said before firing a shot out towards them, the blast of magical energy shooting through the chest of one of the soldiers. Leon mimicked the attack and fired out another shot, the attack striking through another soldier and sending him tumbling back dead. Razico growled then held out his hand, in doing so black chains shot out from dark rifts in the ground, the links swinging around and ensnaring two soldiers. The men looked around with surprise before they were thrown over against a truck, then tossed back into two more soldiers, all of them then dropping down to the ground with a thud. The links appeared across the air leading over to the warlock's hand, the man looking at the soldiers with narrowed eyes as he gripped the chain-link whip tightly. Fire flared around his hand as he shook his head.

"Fine. So be it." he said as fire raced along the links, the flames searing across the air before igniting the soldiers. They screamed as they flailed about before dark tentacles whipped around and ensnared a nearby SUV, the limbs then tossing the truck into a tumble and crushing over the men with a loud crunch. Razico dissolved his chains and looked to Ceal as the boy glanced to him.

"If it makes you feel better hunter, _I _killed those humans." he said with a smirk.

"You don't care about killing anyone, do you?" the warlock asked with discontent. Ceal chuckled and shook his head.

"I'll kill anyone that gets in my way hunter, just as I've always said. I suggest you follow that idea while we're here, if you want your friends to walk out of here in one piece." he said. Razico growled a bit and looked down. He didn't want to show the world that monsters were murderers, however he didn't have a choice. The HDA wouldn't be negotiating or be willing to reason with them anymore, they were going to kill any monster they saw approaching them. If the group wanted to save their friends, then they would have to fight back, even if it meant making their own kind look worse in the eyes of the humans.

"Razico?" Ruby asked as she lowered her barrier. The warlock nodded and glanced to her.

"Let's find our friends, and get them out of here." he said. He then looked back to the catalyst mage.

"No matter what." he said with a nod. Ceal smirked at that while the others looked to each other. Gabriel showed a worried expression and looked down.

"I can't use force here, and I can't be seen with my wings either." he said with concern.

"Then leave the force to us. It's what I'm here for after all." Render said as he gripped his swords tightly. He glanced to his girlfriend and winked at her. She giggled softly and nodded as she formed her barrier sword, the witch ready to follow her battlemage into the fray. Leon walked over to a dead soldier and picked up the assault rifle, the boy examining it before looking back to the group.

"We've spilled blood before hunting treasure, saving your friends seems like a much nobler cause. I think we'll sleep ok at night after doing this." he said as he armed the gun and looked around cautiously. Astreal smiled softly at the boy, the girl watching her boyfriend standing there holding a rifle while fires were flaring up behind him.

_Wow…I think I see what Apoch likes about rough boys…_

"I need to save big sister and the others, no matter what. I won't let anybody, especially some humans, get in the way of that." Kokoa said with determination. Gin nodded and stretched out his arms, the boy then shifting into his werewolf form.

"Well then, we'll do just that. We're monsters after all, nobody's going to stop us from doing what's right." he said firmly. Kokoa nodded and held up her hand.

"Let's go Kou." she called out. The bat squeaked and flew up into the air, then formed into a giant morning star that dropped into her hands. She gripped the massive weapon as the group just looked at her.

"Huh, interesting…pet." Render said with a raised eyebrow.

"How…does he do that?" Leon asked.

"That's a very good question." Gabriel said looking at the giant weapon that had a smiley face on it.

"We'll explain later, right now we have a job to do." Ruby said looking to Razico. The warlock nodded and flexed his hand, the caster causing lightning to arc around it briefly.

"We've already spilled blood, no reason to hold back any longer." he said looking to Ceal. The boy chuckled and glanced towards the side of the area as sirens continued to sound off.

"Then if you're all finally ready to act, let's go find your friends." he said simply. The group then ran off from the ravaged parking area towards the entrance into the building that Kokoa and Gin had spotted, all ready to find and rescue their friends no matter what. They didn't want to harm any of the humans that were going to be in their way, well actually Ceal didn't really give a damn about that little detail, but they were left with no other choice. There was only one way they were going to break their friends out of imprisonment, and that was with brute force.

* * *

Inside the large HDA command center were the holding areas for monsters that were captured or arrested, with the large building structured like a prison with an atrium. There were cells lined along the sides of each floor with secure chain link fences that enclosed the walkways from the middle opening. Armed guards were patrolling around the sectors as they kept their weapons held at the ready, the walkways circling around the floors large enough for four soldiers to walk side by side easily. The cells had industrial strength bars and walls inside, each only having a simple cot and no window. There were roughly a dozen floors to the holding areas as the atrium showed a long way down to the ground below. Sirens were going off as red lights were flashing around the area, the echoing sounds of the alarms along with some faint crashing sounds being heard as well. Inside many of the cells monsters in human form were looking around outside cautiously from their cells as they wondered what was going on. More HDA soldiers were beginning to run around on all the floors as radio chatter was scarcely heard among them.

Towards the top level of the large atrium a group of soldiers were still keeping their weapons aimed at a select group of prisoners despite the recent commotion. They were under strict orders to keep the monsters scheduled for public execution under close watch no matter what, and were keeping their rifles aimed at the monsters with a keen eye.

In one of the holding cells two girls were against the wall looking at the soldiers worriedly. Yukari was dressed in her usual witches outfit, however her wand was clipped to the belt of one of her guards outside. She had a fearful expression as she wasn't able to cast any spells in this state or even use her tarot cards. Next to her Ran was looking at the soldiers with fearful eyes from behind her glasses, the siren dressed in the Yokai Academy girls uniform still. She had on her Greek ivy headpiece she always wore in her hair which shifted from blue at the top to teal at the bottom, the hair going down to her shoulders as one strand of hair was curled up to the side. Both girls were also wondering about the sirens going off, but knew if they even said one word they might be gunned down before they could get an answer.

Inside the cell to their right two other girls were watching the soldiers outside with a careful eye. Kurumu was dressed in her usual outfit from the academy along with her golden cross she wore in the purple bow holding her blue hair up in a ponytail, the succubus looking at the guns being aimed at them with worry still. She could feel the pull of her bond with her Destined One still as he was in the cell next to her, yet was still struggling to remain calm as she watched the humans aim their guns at her while she was behind bars. Next to her Mizore was leaning against the wall while eyeing the soldiers with a cold glare, the snow girl having her arms crossed before her as she remained quiet. She was dressed in the same outfit as usual, along with two other accessories she had started wearing since her recent adventures. One was a choker around her neck that had a white pendant with a unique insignia written in black. Another was a crystal ring on her wedding finger, the band having a dark hue flowing around inside of it while it had the same insignia etched onto the top part of it.

In the cell next to them two boys were watching the armed soldiers carefully as alarms continued to go off inside the atrium. Rason was leaning against the wall watching the soldiers with discontent still after how they wrongfully arrested him and his friends earlier that day. He was dressed in his usual outfit of black tennis shoes, blue jeans, white t-shirt with a golden button-down shirt over it that was left undone, and a golden crescent moon necklace that he wore around his neck. His short blonde hair was still neatly combed as his brown eyes were glaring at the soldiers outside his cell. Sitting on the cot in the cell Dark was glaring at the men with his dark brown eyes as well, the shadow demon dressed as usual with black tennis shoes, blue jeans, black t-shirt with a gray button-down shirt over it that was left undone, and a bandage over his leg from a bullet wound he received earlier. His dark hair was still messy and he wasn't wearing his trademark headphones as they were taken from him upon his arrest when the group was blamed for the attack on a human city that day.

And in the cell next to them two more monsters were watching the soldiers with caution while other HDA officials were running around the floors in a hurry. Moka was dressed in her usual academy uniform, the pink haired vampire trying to comprehend what happened with her friends that were originally sent to live in the human world and how that turned into ground zero for a monster attack. Next to her Ahakon was showing fear at seeing the guns being aimed at them, the young mage dressed in his usual attire of brown boots, black pants, and a brown sweater with a red cape. His red hair was still messy as his blue eyes watched the soldiers worriedly, the mage worried about the safety of his girlfriend and his friends as well.

As the soldiers kept their aim on the monsters one of their radios sounded off.

"Attention, this is the parking garage on the east side, we have intruders. All units be advised, we have intruders who have breached the outer perimeter. Radio reports claim they were monsters. I repeat, we have monsters that have broken into the building." a man's voice called out. The soldiers glanced to each other then back to the group. A moment later the radio sounded off again.

"This is the west side perimeter, we have a breach. A hole was blown clean open in the side of the center, three dead inside. We are sending a search party to the surrounding blocks, all units in the vicinity keep on guard." another man's voice called out.

"This is Unit 12, west side entranceway compromised. Reports of gunfire inside ground level blocks, dispatch heavy level reinforcements immediately. Take no chances, this may be a monster attack." another voice called out.

"This is Unit 3, encountering three intruders in the east wing. Preparing to engage- AHHH!" another voice cried out before cutting to static. The group of monsters all glanced to their cellmates then back to their guards who were glancing to each other as well.

"You're making a mistake holding us here." Moka said cautiously.

"Shut up monster, the time for you to talk is over." a guard said as he aimed his gun at her.

"She's right, we have friends. Family. They're not going to allow this, neither will the dark lords." Mizore said coldly.

"They're all going to join you as well. And as for your dark lords they've already fled back into their world after your attack failed, they're just as despicable as you are for attacking us after we tried to make peace with your kind." a guard said with discontent.

"But we didn't attack you! Why are you blaming us for this, we're on your side!" Kurumu cried out.

BANG!

"Kurumu!" Rason shouted running to his cells bars and looking out them worriedly. In the cell next to his Kurumu was trembling with fear as a bullet mark was etched into the wall next to her head, the girl staring with wide eyes as the soldier's rifle was smoking slightly.

"One more word out of you and the next one is going through your head." the man said with narrowed eyes. Rason growled and grabbed onto the bars.

"Dammit, we're not the ones that did that to your city. We're not your enemies." he said with frustration.

"Get back against the wall or I will shoot to kill." a soldier said aiming at him. The boy growled and slowly backed up from the bars. Dark narrowed his eyes and slowly stood up, the boy then walking towards the bars as the men aimed at him.

"Sit back down right now, or else we'll shoot more lead into you." a soldier said with a grunt.

"You're making enemies with the wrong monsters here." Dark said with discontent. Mizore glanced to the side worriedly as she heard her demon's voice.

"I said shut up and get back!" a soldier shouted out.

"C'mon Dark, they're not going to listen to reason." Rason said shaking his head. Dark growled then glanced to him with a glare.

"Shut up Rason, I'm not about to just sit back and do nothing as these idiots threaten us." he said sternly. Moka and Ahakon glanced to each other as Yukari and Ran did, the group then glancing to the side as they heard the boy's voice.

"It's not like I want to sit here and do nothing, but we're not exactly in a good spot here, and you're wounded." Rason said gently. Dark growled then walked up to him with a glare.

"At least I tried out there, at least I tried to stand up to them. You did nothing back there, you let them take you and your girl without so much as a fight." he growled. The angel looked at him with a bit of surprise as the soldiers watched them carefully.

"Hey c'mon, they had us surrounded, what was I supposed to do?" Rason asked shaking his head. Dark grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall with a thud.

"Do something, anything! Are all you angels so damned peace minded that you won't even stand up to a bunch of humans?" the demon shouted out. Mizore and Kurumu glanced to each other cautiously then looked towards the wall where their boyfriends' voices were coming from. The soldiers were watching them with dull expressions as Rason narrowed his eyes and pushed Dark away.

"Hey, I didn't want my girlfriend being shot. Maybe you're fine with soldiers shooting at your girl but that doesn't sit well with me." he said sternly.

"Hey, pipe down in there you two." a soldier called out.

"My Mizore can handle herself just fine in a fight. What's wrong angel, think your succubus is so weak that she can't do shit without you?" Dark said with anger. Kurumu and Mizore looked to each other curiously then to the wall, both puzzled by the sudden dispute between their boyfriends.

"What's Dark talking about?" Kurumu asked quietly. Mizore merely shook her head as she listened to the boys talking.

"My girlfriend's a stronger demon than both you and your snow girl buddy, this has nothing to do with strength. It's all about common sense, which you seem to be lacking." Rason said as he clenched his fists.

"I said shut up in there. Hey!" a soldier yelled out as he aimed his rifle at the boys.

"Yet you both did nothing to try to stop them from wrongfully taking us in. I was the only one that did anything back there." Dark said waving his arm to the side.

"Yeah, and you got shot because of it. Way to go, I see that worked out well for you." Rason scoffed.

"What's gotten into those two?" Moka asked worriedly.

"They're fighting now? Of all times, they're doing this now?" Ahakon said quietly in disbelief.

"I can handle a bullet just fine, I'm not so soft and cowardly like you are." Dark said sternly.

"Who are you calling cowardly demon?" Rason shouted out.

"Hey! Knock it off in there, both of you!" a soldier shouted out. Dark growled then sent a right hook to Rason, the angel being hit and slamming into the bars. The boy growled then swung back at Dark, the demon blocking the hit and punching the angel in the gut causing him to cough out.

"Hey! Break it up!" a soldier yelled out.

"Dark? What are you doing?" Mizore said shaking her head.

"Stop it you guys, please!" Kurumu cried out.

"You goddamned demon!" Rason shouted as he punched Dark in the gut, the demon growling the shoving the angel into the bars with a tackle.

"Hey, hey knock it off." A soldier said as the men glanced to each other.

"What are you guys doing? Stop fighting." Moka said running to the bars and trying to look to the side.

"We're all friends, knock it off." Ahakon said running over as well. Mizore and Kurumu ran up to their bars as Yukari and Ran did the same, the girls looking towards the commotion as all the soldiers were gathering in front of the boys' cell.

"If you had at least tried to do anything I wouldn't have been alone out there, we might have been able to do something about this! But no, you all just chose to be taken without putting up a fight!" Dark yelled out as he threw Rason to the ground. The angel scrambled back to his feet then charged Dark back into the bars with a tackle. The demon growled then shoved the angel to the side and punched him against the wall, the angel then kicking back and knocking Dark into a tumble onto the ground.

"Dammit I said break it up!" a soldier said as he grabbed a key from his belt. Other soldiers aimed their guns into the cell as the others watched with worried eyes.

"Stop it you guys, this isn't helping our cause!" Moka shouted out.

"He's right." Mizore said softly. Kurumu looked to see the snow girl growling loudly then turning to glare at her.

"If you all would have done something rather than just giving up we wouldn't be in this mess. My Dark's the only one that tried to help." she said. She pushed Kurumu back as the succubus looked at her with disbelief.

"What are you saying? Are you crazy? We were surrounded, we couldn't have done anything then." she said shaking her head.

"You're just as cowardly as your angel." Mizore hissed. Kurumu jumped at that then glared at the snow girl.

"Hey, what the hell! Rason's no coward, and neither am I. Just because your demon got shot doesn't mean we all had to share that fate. We couldn't have done anything then and you know it, at least we all had enough common sense to see that." she barked back. Mizore growled then rushed at her and tackled her against the wall. Kurumu tried pushing back as Mizore held her against the wall with a glare.

"For the Lord of Hell's daughter you're pretty weak being taken by simple humans like this." she hissed. Kurumu gasped then growled loudly at her.

"What the hell you bitch, who are you calling weak? And you're one to talk, you didn't do anything either. You just let them take you while your stupid demon tried to disappear and run away!" she shouted before she tackled the girl to the ground.

"Goddammit, knock it off, all of you!" a soldier yelled out as the two girls rolled around on the ground yelling at each other.

"Have you all lost it?" Yukari cried out.

"Stop fighting, this isn't helping us at all." Ran said shaking her head.

"Dammit we said stop!" a guard said grabbing his key. The two soldiers ran over and unlocked the cell doors as the others aimed their rifles at the fighting monsters. The key holders and another guard each ran into the cells and tried to wrestle the two fighting parties apart while the other four men aimed their guns at them.

"Break it up you two, right now!" a soldier yelled out grabbing Dark and trying to pull him away from Rason while another soldier grabbed the angel by the shoulders and dragged him away.

"One more outburst and we'll execute you right now!" a soldier yelled grabbing Mizore and pulling her off of Kurumu as another soldier grabbed the succubus and brought her to her feet then shoved her against the wall.

Dark growled then quickly grabbed the soldier's pistol, the demon spinning around the man and twisted his head around with his other hand. The boy fired out a few shots to the guards outside his cell as Rason grabbed the other solider and tossed him down, the angel rolling onto top of him and sending a powerful punch to the head. As the skull shattered from the impact a guard outside the cell was shot repeatedly in the chest as the other took a shot to the head.

In the adjacent cell Mizore formed her ice claw and struck into the soldier holding her, the girl digging into his gut as she grabbed him and charged out towards the others with him in front. They fired at the girl and struck into the man repeatedly before the ice girl shoved the guard into another soldier and pinned him to the chain fence, the snow girl then flinging out an ice kunai and striking the other soldier in the head. The snow girl turned back and threw out another, the small ice blade flying between the bars and striking into the skull of the other soldier. Kurumu watched the man fall then looked to the snow girl with wide eyes, the girl smiling at her friend before looking back to see the other soldier pushing his dead comrade away and aiming his gun at her. In a flash a bolt of lightning flew out from Ahakon's hand and struck the fence, the chain link wall electrifying and causing the soldier pushed against it to jerk about. Mizore fashioned her ice katana with her other hand and swung around, the girl slicing the head off as the blade sparked through the chain links behind him. Rason got up and quickly ran out of the cell holding the dead soldier's rifle as Dark did the same, the two boys looking around to seeing other soldiers looking over towards the commotion.

"They're escaping! Open fire!" a soldier on the floor below them across from the breakout shouted. He and his comrade fired a few rounds before more shot past them, the two men running in opposite directions as Dark and Rason fired at them. Dark looked up and fired some more rounds into the level above them, the boy pelting a soldier in the chest as another fired down at him. Dark darted to the side as Rason fired up at the human, the angel then jumping back as gunfire struck the edge of the floor in front of him from below.

"Dammit, we're surrounded still!" the angel yelled out.

"Tell me something I don't know." Dark said as he reloaded his gun. He glanced to Mizore as the girl was holding the dead soldier against the fence as a shield, the body being struck with bullets as the snow girl looked around with frustration.

"Mizore, grab the keys and get the others out now." Dark called out, the boy then grabbing a soldier from the ground and shoving it against the fence as more bullet shot by. Rason did the same and the two boys fired around while using their human shields, literally, to stay alive. They fired up at the one upper level above them as soldiers were running to the opposite side to shoot down at them.

"Right." Mizore said glancing back into the cell. Kurumu looked to the body of the soldier then quickly ran over and grabbed the keys from the belt.

"You were just faking with what you said?" she asked looking to her friend. Mizore smiled and winked at her.

"Just following my demon's lead. He knows best after all." she said coolly. Kurumu blinked then looked at her with a dull expression, the girl then running over next to her friend as the others backed away from the cells. Gun fire echoed out around the ground as guards from all floors were starting to fire up at them, the bullets striking the edge of the floor and around the cells as soldiers fired from the lower floors. The three bodies the monsters were using as shields started to get shot and torn apart quickly as more bullets were flying by at high speed.

"This is crazy, we can't hold them all off like this." Rason said shaking his head. Dark growled then fired a few more shots up at the soldiers above them, the boy striking two down while more showed up.

"Shoot for the ones above us, we can use the ground as cover from the lower ones." Dark called out as he fired a few more rounds. Mizore glanced down to a rifle and picked it up, the girl pushing Kurumu over to hold the body up.

"What are you doing?" the succubus asked franticly as she held the dead soldier against the fence for protection.

"Helping." Mizore said as she aimed down the sight at the soldier in the upper floor. She fired a few rounds, the girl surprised by the kickback of the gun at first, and struck the ground around the HDA soldiers. They looked over to her and started firing down again as Dark and Rason kept shooting from behind cover.

"How the hell do you handle using these anyway? I can't hit anything with this thing." Rason said as he tried to use the rifle with one hand. He fired a few rounds and missed them all as the bullets struck the ground of the upper level and the ceiling. A soldier's cry of agony echoed out as Mizore smiled brightly.

"Got one!" she cheered out.

"Mizore one, Rason zero." Dark said simply as he kept firing, the boy striking the enemy soldiers with precision. Kurumu watched with wide eyes then looked down to seeing Yukari's wand on the belt of the soldier that was missing its head. The girl grabbed it then slid it into Yukari's cell.

"Yukari!" she called out. The witch smiled and ran towards it, then jumped back as bullets struck around her. She screamed and ran back to the siren, both girls pressing against the wall with fear. Kurumu looked at the wand with frustration then to the upper level as more soldiers were still firing from up there.

"Clear those upper level ones out, we can't stay here like this." she called out.

"I'm trying to, I've never used this thing before." Rason said as he franticly tried to shoot the soldiers, the angel missing every shot.

"Working on it." Dark said simply. Another soldier's cry of agony echoed out as Mizore smiled coolly.

"Got another one." she said softly. Dark glanced to her and smirked, the girl smiling at him then trying to fire up at more of the enemies. After a few more shots Dark looked around carefully to not seeing any more soldiers above them. Mizore looked around then kept low to the ground as she made her way towards Moka and Ahakon's cell. Kurumu kept low as she went over to Yukari and Ran's while Rason and Dark started firing down at the floors below them as more soldiers were firing up at them. The two boys dropped down low to the ground as the bodies they were using were shot to pieces.

"Ok, now what?" Rason called out.

"I came up with the idea of a fake fight, do I have to think of everything?" Dark said dryly. Mizore unlocked Moka and Ahakon's cell door as Kurumu unlocked Yukari and Ran's, the group then rushing out to the two boys while keeping low to the ground.

"That was a pretty slick idea, we thought you were really at each other throats there." Ahakon said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you were really convincing." Moka said with a smile.

"I thought you were serious too." Kurumu said looking to Mizore. The snow girl giggled and shook her head.

"I figured that would be the only reason our boys would be arguing like that, I knew Dark was up to something. So I thought we should help them as well." she said. Dark glanced to her with a quick smile then resumed firing his gun while keeping low to the ground. Rason dropped his since he wasn't doing any good with it and looked around quickly.

"We need to get the hell out of here, fast." he said urgently.

"Really? Why do you say that?" Dark said dryly as he fired a few more rounds before ducking back. He shook his head and looked around carefully.

"Going to run out of ammo at this rate, head for the stairs." he said looking to the side. There were stairwells at two opposite sides of each level on opposite corners while the other corners had large elevators. Other monsters in the atrium were yelling and shouting as more HDA soldiers were running into the complex. Several groups were rushing into the stairs as the two elevators were already traveling up, the carrying cars having large doors as they were used to travel equipment and monsters with large escorts.

"Not taking the elevators, good idea." Rason said with a quick nod, the angel remembering how that was ill-advised during their Fairy Tale assault.

"C'mon, let's get the hell out of here." Moka said looking to the stairwell down the walkway from them. They started to move when gunfire riddled the edge nearby as well as the ceiling, the group ducking back against the wall from the incoming fire. The chain link fence next to them at this point was tearing apart and falling away as the HDA soldiers kept up their suppressing fire. Dark looked ahead and fired a few rounds as a few soldiers ran up from the stairwell. He took them down as more showed up from the other side of the floor across the atrium. Yukari aimed her wand towards them and fired out a powerful blast of magic, the ball flying across the atrium and striking into the soldiers with a powerful explosion.

"We're too exposed here, we need to get out of the open." Mizore said looking around. She blinked then glanced behind them as the elevator down the walkway opened its large doors. From the walkway an engine sound was heard as the group looked back to it.

"What is that?" Rason said worriedly. From the elevator stepped out a large metal suit, the black painted armored walker having metal plates covering the arms and legs as it carried a mini-gun in its hands. It was heavily armored on all sides as it had articulating limbs to assist the pilot with carrying heavy weaponry such as the large one it had at the moment. The suit had a dark blue visor as a human pilot was inside driving the mechanized walker, the back of it having a small compartment sticking out holding the engine for the powered suit. The walker slowly stepped out with a clomping sound and aimed the gun towards the group, the barrel spinning up as they watched with wide eyes.

"Oh my god." Kurumu said with fright.

"Move!" Dark yelled as he grabbed Mizore and darted into Moka and Ahakon's cell. Rason grabbed Kurumu and did the same as Ran grabbed both Ahakon and Yukari and leapt in as well. Moka screamed and jumped in as the mini-gun spun quickly and fired lightning fast rounds down the walkway, with the ground and walls being torn up as the high velocity rounds flew by as streaks of white light.

"Holy fuck, what is that thing?" Rason cried out.

The outside walkway was torn apart as the concrete walls and floors chipped away from the deadly rounds being shot out at insane speeds. The walker fired around as the gun made a high pitched whirring sound while more HDA soldiers gathered behind it.

"What do we do now?" Kurumu cried out as the group watched the outside of the cell get torn up.

"Well we're not taking the stairs now, that's for sure." Ahakon said shaking his head quickly.

"We need to get off this floor though." Yukari said with fear.

"We need to get the hell out of here, that's what we need to do!" Kurumu shouted out.

"Any ideas?" Moka asked worriedly.

The bullets stopped firing as the mini gun slowly spun down, the barrel red hot from the heat as smoke and debris billowed around the walkway from the onslaught. The walker then started moving forward with a loud clomping sound as a few HDA soldiers walked behind with their guns at the ready.

"Now what?" Ran asked worriedly. Dark growled then vanished into a black wisp. The group looked to where he just was then over to the cell doors as the walker stepped in front of it, the suit then aiming the large mini-gun towards the group of monsters as soldiers stood on both sides of it and did the same.

"Take no chances, kill them!" a soldier yelled out as the group of men aimed their guns. The group of monsters watched with frustration before a few pins to the soldiers' grenades snapped off and were thrown away. The men looked to their belts with surprise as the min-gun started to spin up. One of the soldiers had his gun yanked away before he was bashed in the head, the man stumbling back as the men looked around quickly.

"What the hell?" a soldier said before looking to seeing Dark appearing down the walkway from a black wisp, the boy glaring at them while holding the stolen rifle.

"Bye." Mizore said coldly before the grenades detonated, the walkway being destroyed by a large explosion from the grenades as dust and debris flew about. The armored suit took aim at the monsters before the ground below it cracked and gave away slightly, the walker then falling through the floor and crashing down onto the lower level with concrete falling around it. The suit slowly started to get back up as the metal was banged up and damaged, then looked up to see Dark aiming a rifle down at it. The group walked over and looked down as the man in the suit stared with wide eyes before Dark fired the gun, the bullets striking the visor and cracking it. After a few rounds the demon stopped firing and tossed the gun away. The armored suit slowly began to aim the mini-gun up at them as the barrel started to spin.

"Bulletproof?" Rason asked glancing to his friend. Dark nodded then glanced to Yukari. The witch aimed her wand down as it started to spark and glow. The gun aimed up at them as the witch fired a blast down at it, the large ball of magical energy striking down on the suit and exploding into a powerful explosion. The ground shook a bit as the group braced themselves, then they watched as the destroyed remains of the walker fell down to a lower floor in flaming pieces and debris.

"But not Yukari-proof." Ahakon said glancing to his girlfriend. The witch smiled softly and nodded with while the group smiled at her.

"Nice job Yukari." Moka said with a smile.

"Yeah, not bad pipsque- look out!" Kurumu said looking to the side. The group looked to see a rocket fired from a soldier a floor below them from across the atrium, the projectile racing towards them with a whistling sound. The group scattered as the rocket flew over and struck against the ground of the walkway, the explosion blasting apart more of the floor as a dust cloud flew around with flames flying about. Moka and Ahakon coughed a bit and looked back to it, the two having jumped back into the cell along with Yukari and Ran. Mizore and Kurumu coughed a bit then ducked back down as gunfire riddled the ground and ceiling around them.

"Is everyone ok? You guys?" Moka called out.

"Hey, are you ok?" Yukari called out as she coughed a bit. Mizore and Kurumu shook off the hit then looked to see Rason against the ground and wall on the other side of the large gap in the walkway, the angel coughing and looking around.

"Dark? Dark?" he called out. Mizore and Kurumu looked around for the demon, then saw him reappear down the walkway further. He slumped against the wall and coughed out, then looked to the others. Rason looked back to his friend as the demon kept low from the bullets that were shooting up the edge of the floor and ceiling above him.

"Dark! You ok man?" he called out. Dark coughed a bit and nodded. Moka, Ahakon, Yukari, and Ran slowly stood up as Rason looked around quickly.

"We need to get out of here now!" he called out.

"No shit." Dark said as he brushed the dust and debris off his shoulder.

"Dark." Mizore said softly with relief as she saw her demon was still alive. Kurumu looked around quickly then back to Rason.

"Hey, we should go-" she started before two more high pitched whistling sounds were heard. They looked to see two more rockets flying at them quickly.

"Not again!" Rason yelled as he ducked down on the ground. Dark watched with frustration then leapt away as the rocket flew up and blasted the ceiling above him. The other projectile raced over and detonated in the floor below Mizore and Kurumu, the girls bracing from the impact as the ground cracked below them. Rason looked to seeing Dark struggling to get up as the concrete ceiling above him started cracking apart.

"Dark!" he yelled out as he scrambled over and pulled the demon out of the way before the upper walkway gave away and crashed down, the two boys stumbling forward as the walkway behind them was blocked off by twisted steel and chunks of concrete.

"Dark!" Mizore cried out.

"Rason!" Kurumu screamed before the ground below them gave away, the girls falling down into the lower walkway and tumbling into a cell that had its bars destroyed from the previous explosions. There wasn't any other monster in there as the two girls rolled into it while the concrete walkway fell down behind them and crashed into a pile outside their cell. The girls coughed as dust flew about and looked to it with wide eyes, both stumbling to their feet then running over to it. Concrete slabs with twisted metal were piled up alongside the chain link fence, the remains of the upper walkway blocking gunfire from the other side of the atrium while there was a large gap above the two girls and next to them where the powered suit crashed down from before. They ducked behind the rubble as gunfire started to pelt the other side, the girls pinned there as there was no other cover blocking the HDA soldiers from across the atrium.

"Dammit, we're trapped here." Kurumu said with frustration. Mizore looked around worriedly then up, the girl worried about her demon that was still above.

Rason and Dark coughed a bit and looked back to seeing they were blocked off from the rest of the group while Moka and the others ducked back into the cell they were in as gunfire riddled through the open gap and cell door.

"AH! Now what do we do?" Yukari cried out.

"There's no way out of here." Ran said looking around.

"We could try to jump down below, couldn't we?" Ahakon said.

"They'll shoot us to pieces!" Yukari cried out.

"Well we can't stay here." Moka said shielding herself from debris that was being chipped away from the gunfire.

Rason and Dark slowly got up then stumbled hastily out of the walkway into the nearby stairwell as more gunfire echoed out behind them. They ran into the opening for the stairs that went up and down between floors then looked back to the firefight in the atrium with frustration. They were separated from the group, which was now divided onto two different floors while being kept down by suppressing fire by the HDA soldiers. More reinforcements were on the way, all aiming to shoot to kill on sight.

"Well, what's our plan now?" Rason asked cautiously. Dark growled as his eyes turned pitch black.

"We show these humans that they made enemies with the wrong monsters."


	2. Containment Failure

Up above a lush forest a figure was flying in place with white feathered wings. A girl was hovering over the forest in a blue sky that had green streaks flowing through it against white clouds. She was wearing white tennis shoes, a Yokai Academy girls skirt, a white t-shirt, and her unique white hat that had cat ears and blue bows on each side. She had long hair that shifted from pink at the top towards a dull yellow at the bottom, the girl's pink eyes looking down below at something with interest as she had a gentle smile on her face. Below the girl loud crashes and roars could be heard echoing out in the forest as a few trees toppled over and dust kicked up in the area. A strong vampiric aura was flaring around as a red glow was flickering among the obscured forest floor.

"You really are something else." Ren said with a soft sigh, the girl captivated by the aura down below, and the monster that it belonged to.

Inside the billowing dirt cloud among the destroyed trees a large scorpion demon was skittering around, the monster having a disfigured face with twisted mandibles as its red and yellow body moved about through the area in a strafing pattern. Its tail struck out quickly with a snapping sound into the dust cloud, the pointed end piercing through trees and boulders and reducing them to rubble as the demon hissed loudly. The tail struck again into the dust cloud, then stopped suddenly. The limb suddenly yanked back and the demon was thrown across the area through a tree and into another scorpion demon that was skittering towards the area. The two monsters tumbled back as the dust cloud calmed down to reveal a figure standing there. He stood there with his normal black shoes and brown dress pants, along with a black t-shirt that was fluttering a bit as his vampiric aura was flaring around him wildly. His black hair had a gray streak that was bled through the side and his eyes were black and crimson, the vampire staring down the two demons as they stumbled back to their feet and charged him again. Dust and foliage flew about as the monsters charged through two more trees and struck at the boy with their tails again. The limbs moved at blinding speeds, yet were dodged easily enough by the vampire as he darted back in the blink of an eye. He narrowed his eyes, then jumped up as a claw swiped by where he was. The boy flipped back over the lizard demon that had tried to sneak up on him and landed behind it, then struck the monster with a powerful kick to the head. The demon flew off to the side with a shattered skull as the vampire bolted forward towards the scorpions, the two demons skittering towards him as their faces hissed at him wildly. The boy darted to the side of one of the tails as it struck forward, then jumped up over the second, the vampire then striking down with a powerful punch to one of the monsters causing it to be blasted into the ground with a powerful explosion.

Up in the sky Ren giggled as she watched the boy with caring eyes, the siren knowing fully well he could handle these things without any problem.

As the scorpion demon was crushed into the ground by the tremendous power of the vampire, the boy then darted over and sent a powerful sideways kick to the tail of the other monster. The kick carved right through the appendage causing the demon to howl and screech in pain. The boy grabbed the tail then with a powerful thrust he sent the pointed end through the body of the demon with a crunch. The monster howled before wavering and falling down dead, the echoing cry of the monster causing growls and snarls to be heard all around. The boy stood up on his kill and glared around with his eyes. As he did he saw the approaching monsters all around, the boy seeing nothing but darkness around him except for the glowing lights of blood from his incoming enemies.

**"Nearing my limit, need to make this quick."** Tsukune growled, the boy feeling his hunger spiking from the use of his vampire energy. In a flash he darted towards one of the glowing blood signatures he saw, the boy's vision returning to normal just in time to show him sending a punch towards a blue skinned brute and obliterating this skull. As the broken bits of bone and splatters of blood shot back while the body dropped down dead the vampire glanced to the side as his vision switched again from his bloodlust, the boy seeing an illuminated figure racing towards him with four arms.

Up in the sky Ren watched him carefully, the girl seeing the vampire dart forward and punch right through an incoming fist from a four armed lizard demon. Tsukune's fist blasted apart the demon's hand, arm, shoulder, then head as he followed through with great force, causing the remains of the monster to be thrown back into a bloody tumble. Ren looked at the sight with wonder then smiled with awe.

"I swear, nothing can stop you Tsukune." she said confidently as she watched the boy dash around at high speed, the vampire using his full strength to annihilate all the monsters from Paradise that were converging on him. He sent a powerful kick to a bulbous giant, the attack causing the large demon to blast apart like a popped balloon. The boy then spun around and punched right through the chest of an armor scaled brute, the hardened skin shattering from the strike as the demon coughed out blood into the air. The boy then jumped up and kicked off of the monster, the demon being shot into the ground with a powerful blast, then flew over and sent a powerful punch to a tall spider demon. The giant arachnid's head was smashed in, the boy then swinging around the crushed skull and landing on the body before stomping his foot down with great force. The monster shot down and the large body of the beast splattered on the floor of the forest as Tsukune seemed to shoot off like a bullet and reappear in front of another demon, the boy striking it down with a quick punch as his aura flared around him like a wild torrent. He started growling and looking around with a glare as the world around him was black, the boy seeing nothing but darkness except for the glowing signatures of the blood from the demons.

**"Getting…so…thirsty."** he growled as the hunger for blood started to escalate. He shook his head and tried to focus his mind, the boy feeling his senses slipping as his bloodlust started to reach critical levels. Ren watched him carefully as she saw him struggling in place then glanced around at a few more incoming demons.

"He's getting to that point. C'mon Tsukune, just finish them off quickly." she said carefully.

Tsukune growled and glared around at the incoming monsters, his world getting darker as his hunger for blood started getting heavier. In a flash he dashed towards an incoming illuminated demon, the boy seeming to vanish and appear instantly before the monster with a powerful punch to the face. Before the skull and brain shattered back into fragments Tsukune vanished again, only to reappear and send a fierce kick to a lumbering brute. As the boy struck into the chest of the gray skinned monster the previous demon's head blasted apart into pieces, just as the brute's chest was smashed in while blood and bone fragments shot out his back. Ren watched with wonder as Tsukune vanished again in a blur then appeared over by where another demon was instantly splattered back against a tree from a powerful punch.

"My god...he really is invincible." Ren said softly.

A large four legged demon scrambled towards the boy with its jaws open, the large extended mouth filled with razor sharp teeth racing towards Tsukune as the boy was facing the other way. The vampire growled then roared out, his aura blasting around him as the ground below him scorched and cracked apart. Ren watched with wide eyes as the lizard closed its jaws down on the boy, right before the blast of sheer vampiric energy blew the jaws apart. Tooth and bone along with blood flew out on either side of the boy as the lizard demon staggered back with a howl.

"No way…" Ren said with wonder. Tsukune glanced back to the demon and held out his hand toward it, the boy's aura turning a deep red. He felt the full force of his vampire energy surging through him wildly, the boy using no restraints as he tried to push his will to the limit. He focused on keeping his hunger in check with all his might while he let his power run freely, and in doing so he could sense the monster energy of the lizard demon. He could almost feel it in his hand as he flexed his fingers.

"His energy…he's…he's using only his energy to kill that thing." Ren said with amazement. The siren watched with surprise as Tsukune yelled and swung his hand to the side, and in doing so the demon was thrown over and crashed into several trees. The boy growled and then focused his energy on the demon, the ground around him turning ablaze as his aura seemed to ignite the area around him. Ren stared with wide eyes as a powerful wave of vampiric energy washed over her, the girl feeling her senses being shot as she moaned out loudly. She dropped from the sky as her eyes couldn't focus, her world spinning from the powerful vampire aura that hit her. She fell and tumbled down through a few branches, the girl then dropping down onto the ground shaking as her mouth was quivering.

_My god…so much energy!_

"Tsukune!" she cried out with passion, the girl feeling her mind going numb as she tried to think straight again. After the wave hit her she not only had an orgasm but lost all cognitive thought, the girl rendered in shock from the powerful wave of energy that rippled through her. She slowly rolled over and stumbled to her feet, the girl wearily looking at Tsukune as he was holding his hand out towards the demon still. The lizard demon was howling in pain as its mouth was torn apart while Tsukune's aura seemed to swirl around him wildly. But it wasn't just a red glow circling him, as the siren saw streaks of fire flaring up briefly as well.

"Tsukune…how…how much monster energy do you have?" she said with disbelief.

Tsukune yelled out as he clenched his fingers in his hand, the boy's aura seeming to spike in a drastic shot all at once. Instantly the demon's chest burst apart as blood and bone blasted out. Ren watched with wide eyes as Tsukune had literally used nothing but his vampire energy to cause the monster's heart to explode.

"Tsukune…how…you…" she said with shock. She looked at the dead lizard demon then over to Tsukune with wide eyes, the girl seeing a massive torrent of power circling around him. He lowered his hand slowly as his eyes were set in a glare still, the boy's power flaring around him causing the siren's heart to skip a beat.

"Tsukune…" she said under her breath. She had never felt more attracted to the boy, the girl feeling her entire body being drawn towards him like no other. The boy slowly looked over to her, the girl feeling her legs wobble as he set her in his sights. She suddenly felt like she couldn't move or talk, the world around her shifting to a blurry haze. His crimson and black eyes peered into hers as he held out his hand towards her, the girl suddenly being dragged towards him by his energy. Her feet skidded a bit on the dirt and grass as her eyes remained locked onto his, the girl unable to think or move at all. She was brought over to him as he bared his fangs, the boy's eyes only showing him the illuminated blood from the girl. He grabbed her around the waist as he used his other hand to move her hair away from her shoulder then tilt her head.

_Tsukune…_

He snarled then bit down into her neck, the girl not showing a reaction as her eyes remained unfocused.

_Tsukune…_

She felt her blood being taken from her quickly, the girl's strength dropping as he held her forcibly. She shivered a bit and slowly opened her mouth.

"Tsu…Tsukune…" she breathed out.

Her eyes started to slowly close as her breathing slowed down, the girl feeling her body going numb as she tried to move. She couldn't break free from his grip, and couldn't form any proper words to sing him to sleep in this state.

"Tsu…kune...stop…" she whimpered out quietly. The boy growled as he held her forcibly, the boy's bloodlust showing him only the illuminated blood as his senses were overwhelmed by sheer hunger. She shakily brought up her hand and gripped his arm that was holding her.

"Tsukune…please." she said softly as her world started to turn to black.

The boy growled loudly, then suddenly jerked back from her neck. He looked at her with a strained expression as she wavered in his arms.

**"R…Ren..." **he said as he struggled to fight his hunger. The siren slowly looked into his eyes as her world started to blur.

"Tsukune…" she said before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Ren's eyes opened slowly as she started to stir a bit, the girl blinking then looking around. She was lying on the grass near the cliffside as Tsukune was sitting next to her. He had his rosary seal attached to his wrist again, the boy's hair and eyes having returned to normal. His fangs however remained as he was now a full blooded vampire, his power only somewhat suppressed by the magical seal. The boy was looking at her worriedly as she slowly looked up at him.

"Tsukune?" she asked softly.

"Ren, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" he asked with concern as the girl just looked up at him with a gentle gaze.

"I…think so." she said softly.

"I'm so sorry Ren, I almost lost complete control. Please forgive me, I never meant to…I couldn't stop myself." he said looking down with closed eyes. The siren slowly sat up and looked at the boy with wonder.

"How…did you do that Tsukune?" she asked softly. He looked to her worriedly as she turned to face him.

"You…you killed that demon with nothing but your monster energy. And…the way you looked at me like that…I couldn't do anything but let your energy carry me to you." she said with wonder. He looked at her worriedly then down.

"I…I'm not sure. I just…when I was facing that monster…I could feel it. I could feel his monster energy. It was like…I could reach out and…grab it." he said looking to his hand.

"You did, you blew apart his mouth with nothing but your energy Tsukune. You…you tore apart its heart without ever actually touching him." she said with awe. Tsukune looked to her then up as he recalled the event. He was mostly trying to keep in control of his vampire urges, but he did remember the feeling of using his energy to tear apart the monster's heart. It was as if he could reach out and grab the actual monster energy of the demon and tear it apart with his willpower.

"And…the way you controlled me…" Ren said softly. The boy looked to her worriedly as she held a hand to her chest.

"I couldn't do anything. I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I couldn't even talk. It was like…you controlled me with your energy alone." she said softly. He looked at her with wonder then down, the boy not remembering that part too well.

"I…did?" he asked. He shook his head and looked back to the siren with worried eyes.

"I'm so sorry Ren, I never meant to do that to you. I don't remember what happened, I was just trying to keep in control. But…I failed at that. I nearly killed you." he said before looking down with remorse. Ren looked at him with concern then slowly held out her hand and grabbed his. The boy looked to see her smiling at him gently.

"It's ok Tsukune. I'm here to help you get through this, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Besides, you stopped yourself, you regained control and stopped yourself from taking too much of my blood." she said kindly. The boy looked down at her hand then looked away and down.

"That was too close though, what if I hadn't heard your voice in time?" he asked.

"My voice?" the girl asked softly. He nodded and looked back to her.

"I heard you call my name, before that everything was dark. I couldn't stop myself from feeding…until I heard your voice. Only then did I realize it was actually you I was feeding on." he said with remorse. She looked at him with wonder then down timidly.

"You…heard me Tsukune?" she asked softly. He nodded and looked down with closed eyes.

"I'm sorry Ren, I nearly drained you dry of all your blood. I tried to put an end to those demons before I pushed myself too far, but I failed in that. I nearly got you killed." he said with regret.

"I'm still alive Tsukune, and so are you. You did what you came out here to do, to fight your bloodlust and learn to overcome it." Ren said gently. Tsukune looked to her with concern then over at the seaside near them, the boy seeing the moon that was strangely close to the horizon in this unique world.

"Maybe we should wait until Ruby gets back before going back out there, just so you're not alone if I-"

"No!" Ren shouted out. Tsukune looked to her as she shook her head.

"No, I can do this. We don't need her here with us Tsukune." she said firmly.

"But Ren, what if I lose control again and nobody's here to help you? You nearly died because you were all alone when I was struggling to keep in control." Tsukune asked worriedly. Ren leapt forward and hugged the boy, the girl holding him close as he jumped a bit in surprise.

"I'm not scared Tsukune. I know you'll be able to beat this thing, I just know it. Nothing can stop you, not a damned thing." she said closing her eyes and holding him close.

"But Ren." Tsukune said worriedly.

"I'm staying by your side Tsukune, I'm the only one you need here. I promise, we can do this together. I know we can." she said softly. Tsukune glanced to her as the girl smiled softly while looking ahead with a gentle expression.

"You need my blood to stop the thirst, you need my singing should you go out of control, and you need…" she said before looking down. She leaned back and let the hug break as Tsukune looked at her curiously.

"I need what?" he asked gently. The girl hesitated for a moment then smiled at him a bit.

"Never mind, but the point is you need me Tsukune, not that witch. We can't stop now, not when we have a long road ahead of us." she said assuredly. Tsukune looked at her with wonder then down a bit.

"But…what if I go out of control like that again? You couldn't sing me to sleep when it happened before, you might not be able to when it happens again." he said worriedly.

"I don't care." Ren said. Tsukune looked back to her as she shook her head.

"I don't care if it's dangerous for me, or if I might die next time. I'm not giving up on you Tsukune, no matter what." she said firmly. He looked at her with a bit of wonder as she smiled gently at him.

"You're stuck here with me Tsukune, get used to it. I'm not leaving this place until you're cured, and that's final." she said with a smile.

"Ren…why are you so determined to stay here with me? We hardly knew each other before coming in here." he asked curiously. She nodded and looked down a bit.

"It's my choice Tsukune, I'm doing this to help you. Besides…we can still get to know each other while we're here." she said glancing back to him with a timid smile. The boy smiled a bit and looked down as the girl watched him sit next to her.

"Thank you Ren, for helping me like this. I'll try to be more careful next time I start to get thirsty again." he said with a weak smile. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a bit, the siren then looking at him with a gentle gaze.

"You're still hungry, aren't you?" she asked softly. The boy looked at her and saw her blood illuminate before his eyes for a brief moment. He nodded and looked down as he held a hand over his eyes.

"Yeah…I stopped myself as soon as I saw what I was doing to you, I didn't want to risk hurting you." he said. He then looked to see Ren moving closer and holding him around the waist, the girl flicking her hair over her shoulder and tilting her head.

"Ren, no. You're still too weak, I've taken too much from you before. You need to rest." he said shaking his head.

"Tsukune…" she said softly as she looked at him with gentle eyes. She smiled and moved closer to him, the boy smelling her scent and blood as she had her neck close to his mouth.

"Please, take what you need from me. It's ok, really." she said as she closed her eyes.

"But Ren, you need to rest." Tsukune said as he saw the blood illuminate quickly along her neck, the girl's scent filling his nose and causing the hunger to grow.

"I'll be fine, I promise. This is what I want Tsukune, so please, take what you need of me." she said holding him close to her.

"Ren…" the boy said closing his eyes.

"It'll be fine, take what you need. I trust you with my life." she said softly.

"Ren." the boy said as he slowly held the girl around the waist.

"For you Tsukune, I'll give anything." she said quietly. The boy trembled a bit, then slowly bit down onto her neck. She didn't flinch or make a sound, the girl having a gentle smile on her face as the vampire had more of her blood. She already felt weak, but was ready to give anything she had to him if it meant it would help him. She wanted to give the boy everything he needed to overcome this condition, and was determined to do just that. Even though it was her own blood that she had to give to help him with his training, which weakened her after each time, she didn't mind at all. In fact it was quite the opposite, as she held onto the back of his head with one of her hands she felt her heart beating a little faster for the vampire.

_Tsukune…I'm all yours. Everything I am…is yours._

* * *

Alarms were sounding off as red lights were flashing in the hallways of the HDA command center, with soldiers running around armed with their weapons as radio chatter was scarcely overheard. Security breaches on the east and west side of the compound were being reported along with a monster escape taking place in the holding cells. Up at the top floor of the tall building a man was looking out the window of his office as he was sitting back in a cushy office chair. He was dressed in a dark business suit, the man having dark hair and a thin mustache as his black eyes were looking out at the sky outside. He growled a bit and glanced back to his desk where he had a computer screen showing the building's layout, along with three red marks pulsating with exclamation marks. Standing in front of his desk were two HDA soldiers, the men standing at attention.

"So, two simultaneous break-ins and a prison break at the same time. I was wondering if the monster world really was so naïve to think that they could actually attack us like this and expect to get away with it. Seems the answer to that question is yes." Jenner said with discontent. He turned his chair back around and looked at the monitor.

"Sir, west side patrols are reporting three monsters breaking into the structure at the ground level. East side forces are reporting a larger group of ten monsters that have broken through one of the parking garages with a stolen truck. They are in the basement area and are moving into the complex as well." one soldier said in a professional tone.

"Also we are getting reports from the holding cells, the group of monsters scheduled for execution tonight have attempted to escape. We have them pinned down in the atrium and are sending in more reinforcements. Do we try to detain them or execute them now?" the second soldier said with a firm expression. Jenner glanced to them then to the monitor.

"It appears they won't go down without a fight. So be it. Send the order to all squads. Any monster that isn't in their cell is to be shot on sight. If any of them try to surrender kill them anyway. We'll settle for showing the public and the monster world their bodies after we kill them like the rats they are." he said with discontent.

"Yes sir." the soldiers said with a salute. Jenner looked at the monitor carefully as he looked between the three simultaneous disturbances.

"Keep the holding cells under strict lockdown, shoot any monster that tries to flee their cells. We're supposed to be keeping some alive for research, however take no chances. If they even breathe funny, kill them." he said sternly. He looked from the middle icon showing the holding cells' emergency status, then looked to the lower status icons that were showing two groups of intruders entering from both sides of the building.

"And find those intruders, and kill every last one of them. Take no prisoners, and use every available soldier for the job. I want no problems dealing with a few misguided rats in our basement." he said with a scoff.

* * *

A group of four soldiers were firing down a hallway, the gunfire echoing from their rifles as spent shell casings dropped to the ground around them. Red lights were flashing around the halls as sirens were going off. All four HDA soldiers were at a T-intersection firing down the middle hallway with focused expressions, their bullets streaking down the corridor and tearing up the wall at another T-intersection. After a moment they stopped firing and looked around the three different halls with careful eyes.

"Damn, how could we miss that one? She was right there in front of us, then she just vanished." one of them muttered.

"Keep a sharp eye out, who knows what these things are capable of." another said as he peered down a hallway for any sign of movement.

Down the hall near the bullet riddled intersection Complica was keeping against the wall next to the corner with her baseball bat held tightly in her hands. She took a breath and glanced to the hall next to her, the girl having just dodged out of their line of fire with her chrono magic.

"Ok, I can do this. Just take out their guns…and maybe they'll run away." She said to herself. She concentrated her mind and shifted into the moment of time, the girl then running around the corner towards the men that were frozen in place. She raced up to one of them and lifted up her bat, the girl aiming at the rifle that was being held by the soldier. Suddenly her power fluxed and the intersection warped and bent around erratically as her magic slipped out of her control. In a flash the entire area along with the men were torn apart as waves of chrono magic rippled around the girl wildly. Complica blinked then looked around with remorse as she shifted out of the moment, the girl watching the bloody remains of the men splatter around the walls violently as the area was ravaged by her magic. The floors and ceiling around her ripped and cut apart while the walls that were concrete with plaster were torn apart and mangled in a flash. She sighed and lowered her bat as the bloody remains slowly dripped from the walls and ceiling.

"Sorry…" she said softly as she looked around at the humans' remains. She didn't want to kill anybody if she could avoid it, however her magic was always unstable whenever she used it.

"I really need to get a handle on that." She said worriedly as she looked around at the damage she did.

"Complica!" Arial called out from down the hall. Complica looked to see Arial running towards her from down one of the corridors.

"Hey, there you are, are you- wow!" she said looking around at the ravaged area. A few bloody chunks of the remains from the soldiers dropped to the ground while pieces of concrete and plaster crumbled down as well. Arial blinked and looked at the butterfly girl with wonder.

"You're a stone cold killer Complica." She said with a smirk.

"What? No I'm not! I didn't mean to do that, really!" Complica said waving her arms around franticly.

"Wow, your time magic is so cool. You slaughtered them." Arial said looking around with amazement.

"I only tried to disarm them, I just wanted them to stop shooting at me!" Complica cried out.

A bloody disfigured hand dropped from the ceiling and plopped onto the floor along with the mangled remains of a rifle. Arial looked at it and nodded.

"Mission accomplished." She said simply. Complica looked around at the area with worry and shook her head.

"I'm not a murderer I'm not a murderer I'm not a murderer." She kept telling herself. Arial looked at her with worry and walked up to the girl.

"You're not a murderer Complica, you're doing what you have to here. Same as all of us, we're trying to free my husband and the innocent ones that are being held here, we're not bad monsters. The only bad ones here are these humans." She said gently. Complica looked at her with concern then down.

"I just want to go home and free my sister and get out of this world and stop fighting and draw at home like I wanted to earlier before I came down here and everything fell apart and WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME?" she shouted out as she saw Arial just looking around at the damage the butterfly girl caused with her magic.

"Seriously, that's just incredible the way you can do that." She said with wonder. She blinked then looked back to Complica.

"Huh? Were you saying something?" she asked.

"Yes I was saying something and you just ignored me again why do you never listen to anybody that tries to tell you anything?" Complica yelled out.

"There's more of them!" a soldier called down from the other end of the hall. The two girls looked over to where Complica had come from to see three soldiers aiming at them with their rifles.

"Take them down!" a man yelled out as they took aim.

Suddenly the corridor and soldiers blasted apart furiously as a sonic wave shot by, with the bloody remains of the men and chunks of the corridor flying off down a hall as a high pitched yell seemed to echo out. The air rippled violently as streaks of light shot down the hall while Arial and Complica watched with wide eyes. From the intersection Sun ran over and stopped, the girl glaring down the corridor where the soldiers were sent flying away in bloody pieces. Her wings were arched behind her as she had a focused expression.

"Sun?" Arial said with wonder. The siren looked over to them then waved with a friendly smile. She ran over to them, then looked around at the bloody remains that were splattered around the ravaged intersection with surprise. She looked around at the surroundings then to the girls with wonder.

"Um…she did it." Arial said pointing to Complica. The butterfly girl jumped and started waving her arms around franticly.

"I didn't try to kill them I only wanted to stop them from shooting at me! I'm sorry my magic is always unstable when I use it I'm not trying to kill them I swear it just happened I didn't mean to do any of this!" she said urgently. Sun looked around at the ravaged hall then to the girl with wonder.

_Just how powerful are these kids anyway?_

"Wow Sun, that was amazing! You took them all out with nothing but your voice!" Arial said looking back down to the other ravaged intersection, with bits of concrete and plaster dropping around the hall that was reduced to ruins from the siren's voice.

"Her voice?" Complica said looking at Sun curiously.

"Yeah, she's a siren Complica, I mean look at that! I wish I could do that as well, that's so cool!" Arial cheered out looking at the ravaged area from the siren's attack. She giggled and looked to Complica again.

"There, you see? Sun's doing what she has to as well, and she's not a murderer. That means you're not one either." She said assuredly. Complica looked around at the bloody remains of the soldiers then to Sun with worry.

"I'm not a murderer am I?" she asked nervously. Sun shook her head with a gentle smile. Complica looked down a bit as Arial looked around the surrounding hallways.

"No you're not Complica, I promise. Now which way do we go? We need to find my Dark before it's too late." She said urgently. Complica looked around while gripping her bat, the chronofly angel trying to be as brave as she could be given the extreme circumstances. Sun glanced around then started running down a hall, the two monster angels then following her as the sirens around the area continued to sound off.

* * *

In the lower levels of the complex gunfire was echoing out in a large supply storage hall. Concrete pillars were holding up the ceiling in the expansive hall as large storage crates and boxes were piled up around the area, the storage hall used to take in supplies, ammo, weapons, and other equipment from the loading garage next door. On one side of the large rectangular hall HDA soldiers were firing from behind cover of the large storage crates, the large group of men shooting towards a group of intruders that were taking cover behind stacked crates on the other side of the hall.

Apoch and Render were leaning back against a few steel containers as bullets whizzed past and struck the sides of their cover. Apoch was looking around worriedly as she gripped her barrier sword, the girl hearing gunfire echoing out constantly while bullets were pelting the surrounding area the group was hiding behind. Render chuckled and glanced to the side.

"Hey Leon, ever get the feeling you're not wanted?" he called out. Next to them Leon and Astreal were hiding behind a concrete pillar, the boy taking shots out from around the corner with his rifle before ducking back as bullets struck around him. Astreal shot out blindly with her attacks from around the corner of the pillar, the magical projectiles flying out and striking storage boxes and bursting them into flames.

"Not going to lie, sometimes I do." Leon said casually with a shrug. Near them Gin and Kokoa were crouched down behind some storage crates, the couple keeping their heads down as bullets were striking off their cover repeatedly. Gin held the girl close as she gripped her Kou-mace, the girl growling with frustration as they were pinned down behind cover. Next to them Gabriel was keeping pressed against a stack of storage crates with a fearful expression while Ceal was casually leaning against them next to the boy with his arms crossed.

"So angel, still want to protect them?" he asked glancing to his frightened comrade. Gabriel glanced to him then looked ahead again.

Next to them Razico and Ruby were crouched down behind cover as well, the casters leaning against the storage crates as bullets struck their cover and wall in front of them.

"So what now?" Ruby asked glancing to her boyfriend.

"We need to push through here." He said as fire raced along his arm. He leaned up and shot out a fire ball before ducking down, the warlock's attack flying over and striking a stack of crates causing them to burst into flame.

Apoch and Astreal looked to each other and nodded, then stepped out from behind their cover as they raised their magical barriers before them. Bullets struck the shields repeatedly as the girls looked to their boyfriends.

"Let's go." The sisters said in unison. Render smirked and walked out next to his girlfriend while holding his two swords while Leon stepped out and fired off some more rounds with his rifle.

"Alright, I'm done waiting here." Ceal said as his reptilian hand glowed a black hue. From in front of their cover black tentacles whipped out from the ground, the limbs grabbing storage crates and flinging them down the hall towards the soldiers. Several crashed into a stack of crates and knocked them over onto some of the men as others struck the pillars and broke apart, their contents of boxes of ammo and guns flying about. A few burst into flames as another exploded.

"Watch it you guys, you don't know what's in these things!" Gin shouted out.

Apoch and Astreal started running down the hall between the large stacks of crates as Render and Leon kept close, the four moving behind protective barriers as HDA soldiers fired at them from behind cover. A few grenades flew over and bounced around as the group looked to them with surprise.

"Watch out!" Leon yelled as he grabbed Astreal and yanked her back behind a concrete pillar. The grenades exploded and several crates blasted apart furiously, the force throwing debris and flaming pieces around. Apoch's barrier stood strong against the large explosion as Render braced from the impact, the boy looking over to seeing Astreal's barrier blasting away while Leon held her against the pillar. She looked at him with a blush as he leaned out and fired his rifle with one hand, the boy glaring at the soldiers that nearly killed him and his girlfriend.

"Leon…thank you." She said softly.

"Are you ok?" he asked looking back to her. She just nodded as he held her against the pillar. Apoch looked over to them then growled as she ran towards the soldiers with her barrier held before her. Render raced right behind her and geared back with his swords. She raced up and jumped into a kick at a soldier, the girl knocking him back before she swung her blade around, the barrier sword slicing through a concrete pillar and a soldier's skull with a crunch. She then swiped her blade and cut down the other soldier with a loud yell. Render jumped up over the crates and landed down between two soldiers, the boy spinning his blades around and slicing them through the chests with a quick maneuver. Apoch held out her hand and the barrier formed behind the boy as bullets from other soldiers started flying at them, the girl then looking behind her to see a soldier aiming his gun at her. Before he could fire a large spiked mace swung down and smashed him into the ground with a crunch. Kokoa and Gin ran over as Render looked back to the other soldiers that were firing at them still. Gin shifted into his werewolf form then darted out and raced across the hallway towards the other side at high speed. Razico and Ruby jumped out of cover and ran towards the end of the hall, with the witch firing her purplish blasts from her wand while the warlock let out an electrical bolt towards a soldier. Ceal calmly walked out from around cover and headed towards the end of the hall as Gabriel kept looking ahead at the wall, the angel conflicted about allowing humans to die by monsters like this.

Leon fired out some more rounds from his rifle while Astreal kept staring at him with wonder, the witch's heart still racing from how he saved her life.

"Let's go Astreal." He said glancing back to her. She blinked then smiled softly.

"Right." She said, the girl then following him out while they fired at where the humans were hiding behind cover still. Gin raced towards the far end of the hall at high speed then darted around the crates to see the humans still firing at Render and Apoch. The werewolf grabbed a soldier and smashed him into the wall, then darted forward and swiped another into a stack of crates. The other soldiers looked back to him with surprise before purple and red blasts of magical energy shot through the storage crates causing them to explode next to them. A few soldiers were thrown back into the wall on fire while others stumbled back. One of them was riddled with bullets as Astreal and Leon raced up while another was struck with a bolt of lightning and blasted back into the wall. Ruby and Razico raced up as another soldier pulled the pin to his grenade and geared back to throw it at them. Suddenly a black tentacle wrapped around his arm and yanked the man away into a spiral off into the hall. Ceal casually walked up to the group as an explosion blew apart more crates behind him along with the soldier.

"Everybody ok?" Razico said looking around.

"I think so. Where's Gabriel?" Ruby said looking around cautiously.

From the flaming crates nearby Gabriel walked past and over to the group, the angel looking around at the flaming warzone with worried eyes.

"Gabriel, you ok?" Kokoa asked. The angel looked down to a burnt body of a human with remorse then over to the one Leon shot to death. He shook his head and looked down with frustration.

"Hey, it's ok Gabriel. We did what we had to do." Ruby said gently.

"Yeah, they were trying to kill us. We're innocent here." Render said with a nod. Gabriel looked to him then to the blood that was trickling down from the boy's swords.

"I used to kill monsters that did what you did to humans…and now I'm just watching and doing nothing. What kind of guardian angel am I?" He said looking down with remorse.

"But what we're doing is right, we're trying to save my big sis and our friends. We're not the bad guys here." Kokoa said shaking her head. Gabriel grabbed his hair as he had a strained expression, the angel conflicted about what he was doing.

"Rason's being held here as well, he's going to be executed by these guys. Isn't that reason enough to fight back?" Ruby asked worriedly. Gabriel looked to her with concern then down.

"It's my job to guard humans until they die, no matter what. I…I can't go against that law." He said shaking his head.

From the side of the hall three HDA soldiers ran in and looked around with surprise at seeing the storage hall a flaming mess. Storage crates were on fire, some having been blasted open as supplies and equipment lay strewn about. They looked over to the monsters then aimed their guns.

"They're still alive, fire!" one of them yelled. They fired as Apoch held out her hand, the witch creating a barrier before the group as the bullets struck the shield repeatedly. Ceal waved his reptilian hand and black tentacles whipped out and ensnared the humans, the men struggling to break free as their guns dropped to the ground.

"Tell me this angel, if your lord told you to kill yourself, would you?" the boy asked as one of the men was ripped apart violently by the limbs.

"Stop it Ceal!" Gabriel cried out as the other two humans looked at the mage with fear.

"Do you have a single ounce of free will in that body of yours?" Ceal asked as another soldier was ripped apart violently, the dark limbs tearing the body into pieces and throwing them to the sides. The group looked to Ceal then to Gabriel as he watched with horror at the humans being slaughtered by the catalyst mage.

"Stop, don't hurt them. They're done, they can't fight back." Gabriel said looking at the fear in the soldier's eyes.

"So you want me to let him go?" Ceal asked looking to the angel. Gabriel nodded with pleading eyes.

"Please stop killing them. They don't have to die." He said urgently.

"If I let him go, he'll leave, rearm, and come back with more help. They'll try to kill us again and again, they won't show mercy angel." Ceal said coldly. Gabriel looked at him with worry then to the human. The group looked at the angel with concern as the boy shook his head.

"I…can't let this go on. They're human beings, they're…they're sacred." He said with frustration.

"They nearly killed those two witches behind you. They've been trying to kill us this entire time. They're going to kill your friend and the others held here tonight. And you're calling them _sacred_?" Ceal said with a raised eyebrow. Gabriel looked to him with worry then down. Ceal glanced down and picked up a handgun, then tossed it to Gabriel. The boy caught it and looked at the weapon with surprise, then to Ceal.

"Make your choice angel. If you want him to live, you're going to have to kill this monster." He said with cold blue eyes. The tentacles around the human tightened and he coughed out, a few ribs cracking from the pressure as the group watched Gabriel carefully. The angel trembled and looked to the human.

"They're going to kill you and all the monsters they see. They're going to execute your friend tonight in cold blood. If you really wish to spare this human, then shoot me." Ceal said simply. Gabriel shook a bit as he gripped the gun in his hand.

"Stop, just…stop this Ceal." He said nervously.

"Time's running out angel." Ceal said glancing to the soldier as blood started to drip from his mouth. He coughed and choked a bit as the dark limbs applied more pressure to his body. Gabriel looked to the human and shakily brought the gun up to face Ceal.

"Let him go…please." The angel said softly.

"No." Ceal said. Gabriel shook his head and aimed the gun at the boy.

"I said let him go. He's not a threat anymore, he doesn't have to die." He said shakily.

"Gabriel calm down, just lower the gun." Ruby said worriedly. Apoch kept her hand ready to form her barrier as she watched the angel closely. Ceal looked at the angel and shook his head.

"Five." He said simply.

"Don't do it." Gabriel said shaking his head.

"Four." Ceal said.

"He's gonna do it." Render said glancing to the bound human soldier.

"Stop!" Gabriel shouted out.

"Three." Ceal said calmly.

"He isn't stopping." Leon said glancing to Ceal.

"I mean it!" Gabriel yelled out as he showed a frustrated expression.

"Two." Ceal said simply.

"Put the gun down Gabriel." Razico said sternly.

"One." Ceal said as he raised his reptilian hand up, his fingers poised to snap and give the command to his pet to kill the soldier.

BANG!

The group watched as the soldier jerked back from the bullet going through his head, the man falling limp in the grasp of the dark limbs from below. The tentacles vanished back into the dark rifts as the body dropped dead to the ground. The group looked from the body to Gabriel, the angel still holding the gun out towards where he shot the human with a frustrated expression. He was breathing raggedly, the angel slowly lowering the gun and trembling a bit. After a pause he slowly looked over to Ceal.

"Gabriel." Ruby said softly.

"You…killed him." Kokoa said in wonder. The angel looked at the man he shot then slowly over towards the girl.

"I gave him a merciful death…far from what Ceal was going to do to him." he said looking down with a pained expression. He dropped the gun and looked to his hand, the angel mortified at what he had done.

"What…have I done? I killed a human being." He said quietly.

"Rason did the same thing when he came to this world." Gin said with a slow nod. Gabriel looked over to him as the wolf looked at the fallen soldier.

"He struck down a human because he wanted to do what was right, to save a monster." He said softly.

"He didn't know the man was human, he made a mistake." Gabriel said shaking his head.

"Maybe, but knowing him I'll bet he still would have made the same choice even knowing that fact." Ruby said gently. Gabriel looked to her then to the soldier that he killed.

"It was because of him that Luna is alive today, he saved her that night. There's no way he regrets his actions or what came of them." Kokoa said softly. Gabriel looked at his hand then to Ceal, the mage smirking a bit at him.

"Congratulations angel." He said.

"For what?" Gabriel asked quietly.

"Now you're one of us." Ceal said looking down to the dead soldier. Gabriel looked down, then glanced to the man he killed. He had gone against his own code to protect human beings, first by allowing them to be attacked by the monsters he was with, then by personally shooting one dead. He knew shooting Ceal wouldn't be right, and likely wouldn't end well for him either, and knew the only thing he could do was give the human a quick and painless death while he could. After a moment he glanced back to Ceal.

"Were you expecting me to do that?" he asked quietly.

"Not sure to be honest. Though it was interesting to watch you struggle with that little decision of yours." Ceal said with a shrug.

"What if I had killed you instead?" Gabriel asked.

"You wouldn't have." Ceal said simply.

"How could you know that? I had the gun aimed right at you up until the last second." the angel said curiously.

"The bullet never would have reached me." Ceal said glancing to Astreal, the witch lowering her hand a bit to her side.

"Sister? You had your barrier up?" Apoch asked. Astreal nodded and looked at Ceal with a bit of wonder.

"Yes, but how did you know that Mr. Ceal?" she asked.

"I saw you raise your hand up a bit out of the corner of my eye when he aimed the gun towards me. The slight glow of your wrist showed you were using your magic." Ceal said simply.

"You knew she was protecting you." Ruby said looking to the blonde haired witch. Astreal looked around at the group then down.

"Ms. Falla would have been upset if her boyfriend was killed here. I didn't want to risk it." she said quietly.

"I was wondering why you were so confident handing over a loaded gun to him like that." Render said with a simple nod.

Gabriel looked at the group then to the soldier he killed with remorse.

"I'm a murderer, I killed a human being and went back on my sworn code to protect them." He said softly.

"You're not a murderer angel." Ceal said simply. The group looked to him as he shrugged.

"You're just another monster like us." He said. Gabriel looked at him with a stunned expression then down.

"And with that being the case now…" Ceal said as he reached down and picked up a rifle. He held it out towards Gabriel, the angel looking at it with caution.

"You're no longer bound by your old code. You're free to act, as a fallen angel if you will." the mage said with a smirk.

"Fallen angel." Gabriel said softly.

"That's the title Rason had when he was banished to the monster world, for going against his code." Kokoa said looking to Ruby. The witch nodded and looked at Gabriel, the angel staring at the weapon being held out to him. He slowly looked up to Ceal then to the others.

"We could use your help Mr. Gabriel, to free our friends from this place." Apoch said softly.

"Please, Rason and the others need us. We need all the help we can get if we're going to save them." Ruby said as she held her wand tightly. Gabriel looked around at the group then to Ceal. He slowly reached out and took the rifle, the angel looking to it cautiously.

"Now do your job angel." Ceal said. The group looked to him curiously at that remark.

"My job?" Gabriel said slowly.

"Yes. Kill those that threaten your friends, and let the Almighty sort them out." Ceal said as his reptilian hand glowed a black hue. Gabriel looked to the rifle in his hands, the weapon he would need to help save his friends from captivity. He had spilled the blood of a human soldier, the angel going against his code to always watch over mankind and protect them from monsters. However there was no getting around it, the HDA would not hesitate to shoot and kill them along with any innocent monsters they came across. He felt conflicted about fighting against those he had once sworn to protect, yet knew what had to be done. He needed to save his friends from this place, and there was only one way he could do that.

He slowly armed the rifle and nodded.

"I guess I don't have a choice now, no going back after what I did. Let's see if I'm half the fallen angel Rason was." He said looking to the group.

"You're a real angel in my eyes still." Leon said with a small smirk.

"Same here, having you with us is going to be a big help." Ruby said with a small smile.

"An angel holding an automatic assault rifle in his hands, my how times change." Render said with a chuckle. Apoch and Astreal giggled a bit at that while Razico smirked at the angel. Gabriel smiled at that a bit and looked down at the weapon.

"Alright you guys, let's get going. Our friends are waiting for us." Gin said looking to the nearby door. The group nodded then ran off into the complex in search of their friends. As they did Gabriel had a focused expression, the angel having chosen what side to aid in this war. There was no going back for him, he had already gone against his code to protect human beings that were alive in the mortal realm. In doing so he realized that these humans weren't sacred, they were just as evil as monsters could be, and were going to kill the innocent monsters along with his friend from heaven. He understood what Rason meant when he defended his actions for protecting Luna on that fateful night. A life is a life, no matter what it is.

The group ran down the hallway as sirens and red lights flashed around, and as they did the angel looked down to the rifle he was holding in his hands.

_I'm the first angel in history to wield such a weapon against humans, but I'll do what I must to save Rason and the others. If using this weapon is what it will take to free them, then a fallen angel I shall be. I know Rason wouldn't hesitate to do what's right, he would use this weapon to save his friends without a second thought._

* * *

"Seriously Rason, you are just god-awful with that thing." Dark said flatly, the demon leaning back against a wall with a raised eyebrow. He was holding a rifle in his hands while two dead HDA soldiers were laying on the ground next to them, the men having their necks snapped after the demon took them out while unseen. The demon and his angel friend were inside the stairwell that led to the upper and lower floors of the holding cell atrium along with having a hallway that led into the complex alongside the holding area on that floor. HDA soldiers were firing from down the hall at them while Rason was trying to shoot from around the corner at them, the angel's rifle kicking around as the bullets shot around wildly and struck everything but the soldiers.

"Give me a break, I'm the first angel in history to use something like this, I'm not a trained soldier like you are." Rason snapped back as he ducked back behind the corner.

"Even Mizore got two of them on her first try." Dark said shaking his head.

"This isn't easy! I mean seriously, this thing is impossible to aim!" Rason cried out as he looked at the rifle in his hands. Dark rolled his eyes then aimed out from behind the corner, the demon firing a few rounds down the hallway with a keen eye. He ducked back as two soldiers dropped dead while the others backed up behind a corner branching out into the complex.

"Got two. Mine's working fine." the boy said with a shrug. Rason just looked at him with surprise then shook his head.

"Whatever man, some of us didn't do this for a career." he said flatly. He then glanced back out into the atrium where gunfire was still echoing out.

"We need to do something fast man, they're going to shoot everybody to pieces in there." he said worriedly. Dark grabbed his shoulder and the two vanished into a black wisp.

From down the hall two soldiers peeked out from behind a corner with their rifles, the men watching for movement at the nearby stairwell. They stepped out and started firing down at the corner, the two men shooting apart the area as they took a few steps closer. They stopped and waited a moment, then gunfire echoed out as they were shot repeatedly from behind, the two falling back dead as Rason fired on them at point blank from under the demon's cloak.

"Much better." the angel said with a smirk.

"Way to go hotshot, now let's keep moving." Dark said as they ran down the hallway.

Inside the atrium Kurumu and Mizore were keeping low and against a wall of rubble, the two girls under constant fire as soldiers were shooting at them from across the atrium. The concrete wall chipped and blasted apart a bit as the two girls kept down while holding each other.

"This is crazy!" Kurumu cried out. Mizore looked around, the girl only seeing the empty walkways on both sides of them. There was no cover to hide behind, and the level was encased with the chain link fences that surrounded the opening in the middle of the area.

"We need to get out of here, we can't just sit here like this." she said with frustration.

"And just how do you propose we do that without getting shot into teeny tiny pieces?" Kurumu cried out with fright.

On the floor above the Moka, Ran, Yukari, and Ahakon were keeping low as they were trapped in one of the open cells, the four monsters watching gunfire strike up at the edge of their cell and ceiling as the soldiers kept firing up at them. The walkway in front of the cell was collapsed down below, the four monsters trapped inside the cell as the HDA used suppressing fire.

"Well, any ideas?" Ran asked worriedly.

"Don't get shot?" Ahakon asked fearfully.

"If we jump down they'll just shoot us right away, we can't outrun bullets." Yukari said worriedly. Moka looked around then ran over towards the wall, the girl's rosary lighting up as she struck at the wall with a fierce punch. The hit stopped and she froze in place, then backed up holding her hand with a strained expression.

"For the love of…" she said shaking her hand in pain. She looked around with frustration and shook her head.

"What's this place made of anyway? I can't break through the walls." she said.

"This place is made to keep monsters in cells, I'd imagine it's no ordinary prison." Ahakon said.

"I noticed, that hurt like hell. Yukari, could you try to blast apart the walls with your magic?" Moka asked looking to the witch.

"Um…if I fire a blast of magic in here I'd be doing these humans a favor by killing us." Yukari said shaking her head.

"Well we can't just sit here, we have to get out of this place and find the others." Moka said looking around.

Down below them on the lower floor Kurumu and Mizore were keeping against the rubble for cover as bullets continued to race by them. A whistling sound was heard from a rocket before a powerful explosion detonated on the other side of their cover, causing a good portion of it to blast apart and fly off into the nearby empty cell. The two girls tumbled to the ground then scrambled back to the cover, both of them lying on the ground as their cover was now much shorter than before.

"We're going to die, this is it!" Kurumu cried out.

"We need to make a break for it." Mizore said looking down the walkway to the stairwell entrance.

"We'll never make it, they'll tear us apart long before we-" Kurumu said before looking over to the other side, the girl seeing an armored HDA walker stepping out from an elevator along with two other soldiers. The large suit aimed it's mini-gun at them as the soldiers held their rifles at the ready. The two girls stared with wide eyes as they lay on the ground, both watching the mini-gun barrel spin up as the humans aimed at them.

"Goodbye Mizore…" Kurumu said with tears forming.

"No…not like this…" Mizore said with fright.

Another whistling sound was heard as the girls shut their eyes, both ready for death to strike them down. A rocket raced over and struck through the chain link fence into the walker, the projectile detonating into a powerful explosion. The two human soldiers were blasted back into flaming heaps as the walker stumbled over and crashed back into the elevator, the suit's right side a flaming wreck as the pilot inside was screaming loudly. Kurumu and Mizore looked to seeing the soldiers taken down then peeked out from behind the rubble. On the other side of the atrium they saw humans looking with surprise at the sight then over to see one of their men holding a rocket launcher, the confused man then being thrown through the opening in the fence and falling down with a scream towards the ground below. The launcher however remained floating in midair as the HDA forces stared at it with wide eyes. Even monsters that were still in their human forms while in their cells were looking at the sight with puzzlement as they kept away from the bars in front of them.

"Rason." Kurumu said softly as she felt the pull of the bond towards the floating weapon. Mizore glanced to her then over to the launcher.

"Dark." she said with a soft smile forming.

From around the rocket launcher a black wisp flew around to show Dark holding a rifle and Rason holding the launcher with a cool smile, the demon letting the shoulder of his friend go as the angel chuckled a bit while aiming at the other soldiers nearby.

"See, this is more like it. Can't miss with this one." he said as he fired a rocket out, the projectile flying over and veering up at the ceiling. It exploded and knocked the soldiers back as Rason blinked and looked to seeing he missed them.

"Good thing I took the shot to save our girls. You would have killed them yourself." Dark said flatly while shaking his head. He looked over to Mizore and shrugged, the snow girl smiling brightly at seeing her demon alive still.

"I don't get it, the crosshair in this scope thing was right on them. How did I miss?" Rason said puzzled as he looked at the launcher in his arms. The HDA soldiers got up and fired at them with their rifles, the angel being grabbed by Dark and vanishing into a black wisp. The launcher dropped down as it was pelted by gunfire, the soldiers firing their rifles along the cells and walkway that was torn apart by bullets. Monsters in their cells ran back to the far walls as the entire walkway before them was lit up by gunfire.

"Dark!" Mizore cried out.

"Rason!" Kurumu cried out as they watched the walkway get torn apart. Suddenly a large ball of magical energy flew down and struck the walkway, the blast destroying the concrete area and incinerating the soldiers. Part of the walkway collapsed onto other soldiers below them as smoke billowed around the impact site. Up in their cell Yukari was looking with frustration as she held her wand out, the witch then ducking back as gunfire shot up again at her from the other lower floors.

"Yukari! Are you ok?" Ahakon said as the witch scrambled back to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But Dark and Rason…they…they…" she said looking back to the opening.

"Oh no. Dark. Rason." Moka said holding a hand over her mouth.

"No, don't say it Yukari." Ahakon said shaking his head. The witch trembled and choked back a sob.

"They didn't have anywhere to run to in time." she said before she started crying.

Mizore and Kurumu looked at the bullet riddled walkway with fright, the girls seeing dust and broken bits of the ceiling falling about from the onslaught of gunfire from the soldiers.

"Oh no…no!" Mizore cried out as the girls scrambled out of their cover and ran along the walkway. The soldiers below their floors continued firing up where the witch shot out her attack from, with a few then firing at the two moving girls that came into view. Kurumu and Mizore ducked down and ran low as bullets shot over them, the projectiles striking the ceiling and the cells as monsters inside of them jumped back with fear of getting shot. They rounded the corner and raced along the walkway towards where they saw their boyfriends vanish before the area was shot apart.

"Dark!" Mizore cried out as they ran over to the walkway that was ravaged by bullets.

"Oh god no…Rason! Rason!" Kurumu cried out looking around.

"Where are they? They're not here." Mizore said looking around the walkway quickly. Even monsters in their cells were peeking out wondering what happened to the two escapees. Kurumu looked around, then blinked, the girl then looking out at the open atrium.

"Rason." she said as she felt the bond of her Destined One. Mizore looked over to her and then out at the opening. They ran over to where the fence that surrounded the walkway was torn apart and looked around.

"They're…they're right there!" Kurumu said pointing at something. From the air gunfire echoed out, the bullets flying down and pelting the floor below the girls as HDA soldiers scrambled and got shot down. Other soldiers looked up and around to find the source of the noise as the floor below Kurumu and Mizore was gunned down from something unseen. Monsters in their cells jumped back as HDA soldiers were shot by an unseen assailant, the men shooting back and dropping against the bars to the cells. Mizore narrowed her eyes as she looked around, then saw the flicker of something moving about.

"They're airborne." Kurumu said with a smile.

"They're armed." Mizore said looking down at the ground, the girl picking up a rifle from a dead soldier. Kurumu looked to her with worry then around. The snow girl then ran back to the other walkway to their side, the girl kneeling down close to the edge and aiming the rifle at the soldiers below them.

"Mizore, what are you doing?" Kurumu said running over to her. The snow girl took aim and fired a few shots.

"I'm helping them. We'll provide cover and keep them busy, go back and get Moka and the others, bring them down here." she said as she started firing. She shot up the ground and edges a few floors, with soldiers ducking back before gunfire echoed out from the open space in front of them. A few soldiers shot back dead as monsters in their cells started yelling and cheering loudly. Mizore glanced to Kurumu then looked at her sternly.

"Get going, hurry!" she said. Kurumu jumped a bit and nodded nervously, then ran back down the walkway. Mizore looked down the iron sight of the rifle and fired a few shots, the girl trying to keep the soldiers distracted while her airborne fiancé was firing at them as well.

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is so crazy!" Kurumu cried out as she ran back over to where the girls first fell down onto the level. Her wings emerged from behind her and she flew up through the opening, the girl then running over and leaping into Moka and the others' cell.

"Kurumu! You're ok!" Moka said with relief.

"Yeah I'm fine. The others are keeping the humans busy, c'mon we need to go." Kurumu said.

"Dark and Rason are alive?" Yukari said with relief.

"For now, but we need to get the hell out of here, c'mon." Kurumu said running back and jumping down to the lower floor. The other four quickly followed her as gunfire echoed out in the atrium. Mizore kept firing the best she could while Dark and Rason flew around, the angel carrying Dark about as the demon used his rifle to fire at soldiers from above. The HDA soldiers started firing around wildly into the air, the men confused and frustrated about what trickery the monsters were using against them. Rason weaved and dodged around as Dark continued to fire at any target he could. Mizore fired a few more shots then looked over to see the others running up to her.

"Oh thank god, you're both alright." Moka said looking between her two friends.

"Glad to see you're all safe as well." Mizore said standing back up as the group backed away from the edge. She looked over and fired into the stairwell as a few soldiers ran out, the snow girl striking them down as Yukari aimed her wand back down the walkway and fired another powerful blast towards more soldiers that were running along the walkway after them. The projectile blasted apart the area and sent the men flying back into a smoking tumble as monsters in their cells jumped away from the explosions with surprise.

"Where are Dark and Rason?" Ran said looking around. Mizore and Kurumu looked out to the open area inside the atrium as gunfire echoed out from midair.

"Doing their flight maneuver of course." Mizore said with a soft smile. Kurumu followed something with her eyes and turned her head a bit, the group then seeing Dark and Rason appearing from a black wisp as they landed back down in the walkway from the broken fence. Rason's shirts were torn off as his wings were arched behind him, the boy looking back to the opening as he let go of the demon. Dark dropped the rifle that had spent all its ammo, the demon then casually picking up another from a dead soldier before the two ran over to the group.

"Hey, are you guys alri-" Rason started before his world went black.

"You're alive Rason! You're alive! You had me so worried there, I thought for sure they shot you to pieces before you vanished like that! Oh my Rason, they didn't hurt you did they? I'm so glad you're safe and sound again, and oh my god, the way you were holding that rocket launcher like that, you know just how to get my motor going babe! You looked so hot like that, just like an action hero!" Kurumu cheered out as she hugged her boyfriend dearly, the group watching as Rason's head was engulfed in his girlfriend's bosom while his arms were flailing about.

"Kurumu!" Moka cried out. The succubus paused and blinked, then looked down at her angel. She screamed and jumped back as the boy dropped to the ground out cold.

"Rason! Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Rason, speak to me, please!" she cried out as she knelt down next to him and started shaking the boy.

"Poor angel." Yukari said with a sigh.

"Now? You're going to do that to him _now_?" Ahakon said in disbelief.

"Oh my god, she killed him." Ran said with fright. Moka sighed and shook her head.

"No, he'll be fine. He's probably used to it by now." she said dryly as she watched Kurumu shake the angel while having a frightful expression. Mizore smiled at her demon and took out her lollipop, the girl then being held by the boy with one arm as he pulled her into a kiss. As they had their moment Rason jumped up a bit with a gasp, the boy looking around quickly then seeing Kurumu looking at him with worried eyes.

"I'm so sorry." she said softly with teary eyes. He blinked then smiled at her.

"Glad to see you're ok too lover." he said before he pulled her into a kiss. She closed her eyes and let the boy hold her as the group watched the two couples.

"Again, _now_? You're seriously going to do this now?" Ahakon cried out. Mizore broke from the kiss and put her lollipop back in her mouth as Dark brushed the hair away from her eyes with his free hand.

"Nice shooting there my little snow bunny." he said. She blushed a bit and looked down.

"I wanted to help my husband." she said.

"And you did, thanks for the assist." Dark said with a slight smile. Mizore nodded and smiled at him timidly as Kurumu and Rason got up from the ground.

"You're all ok still, that's a relief." Rason said looking at the group.

"For now, let's get the heck out of here while we can." Yukari said looking around worriedly. They turned to head for the stairwell entrance before a blast door slid down and slammed shut in front of it. The group looked at it with surprise then over to see the elevator entrances and the other stairwell entrances on all floors having blast doors dropping down in front of them. The red flashing lights stopped and blue flashing ones started as the sirens stopped blaring. Monsters that were in their cells looked around worriedly as they kept away from their bars.

"What…what's going on?" Ran asked worriedly. Dark walked over towards the edge of the walkway and aimed his gun down, the boy not seeing any sign of other soldiers below them.

"They're gone…they pulled back." he said looking around carefully.

"They ran away? That's good, right?" Rason said hopefully. Dark glanced back to the blast door and shook his head.

"They didn't run away, they sealed us in." he said with a cautious tone. The group looked to the blast door as the atrium got very quiet all of a sudden.

"This…isn't making me feel any better." Kurumu said worriedly.

"We're trapped in here?" Ran asked looking around nervously.

"What are they up to now?" Mizore said as she held her rifle in her hands still, the snow girl looking around carefully.

The speakers around the area sounded off with a tone before an automated woman's voice spoke up.

"Attention. Holding cells compromised. Atrium integrity below minimum safety standards, monster containment failing." it said in a calm voice.

"What's going on?" Yukari said looking around puzzled.

"Monster outbreak eminent. Removing holding area sector from facility for disposal." the voice said again.

"Um…what does that mean?" Ahakon asked looking around.

"Removing it from the facility? What are they talking about, how can they remove-" Kurumu started before the entire area started shaking. Monsters in their cells started yelling as they were looking around outside their bars with worry while the lights flickered wildly.

"Now what's happening?" Rason said as the group tried to balance themselves.

Outside one of the ground level blast doors a group of soldiers were watching a monitor on the wall with cool smiles.

"Good riddance to them. Should have done this from the start." one of them said.

"Tell me about it. Guess the higher-ups decided it wasn't worth the risk of keeping any of them alive anymore." another said with a laugh. Suddenly an ice shard struck through his head from behind, the man falling forward against the wall and slumping down as the two other men looked over with surprise. In a flash Complica appeared and finished swinging her bat, the girl's attack through time blasting one of the men into two bloody pieces that flew down the hall. The remaining soldier staggered back and dropped down against the wall, the man looking to seeing three girls walking up to him.

"What the…monsters!" he yelled out as he saw the girls' wings behind them. He grabbed his rifle before Arial flung an ice shard at him, the blade striking into his shoulder and pinning him to the wall. He yelled out as he dropped his gun, the man grabbing the shard as he watched the three monsters with a strained expression. The girls walked up then looked at the monitor as it had a static feed of inside the holding cells. It showed a level where a cell door was blown apart and the walkway before it was missing.

"This is it, this is the holding cells. We found it!" Arial said looking to the blast door. Complica looked to it then to the monitor which cut to static as the area started to rumble violently.

"What's happening?" she asked as she tried to balance herself.

"You damn things…you're too late." the soldier spat out as he glared at them. Arial banged on the blast door then looked around, the girl then looking to the soldier with a glare.

"Open the door right now!" she yelled out. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"Nothing doing monster, that door can't be opened now. Not like it would make a difference, those inside are already dead meat." he said. Sun looked at the man cautiously then to the monitor. Arial growled and shook her head.

"Like hell they are. Complica, tear the door open!" she yelled out. The chronofly looked to the blast door and gripped her bat. The area shook violently as the young monster angels stumbled to the ground while Sun held onto the nearby wall. She looked at the monitor which switched to a side view layout of the HDA center. It had a large illuminated sector that stood tall inside the main complex, the lit up sector then moving downward. The girls heard loud engine noises as sirens sounded off inside the hallway.

"What's going on here?" Complica said standing upright as the place shook.

"Never mind that, bust open this door! I need to get to Dark right now!" Arial yelled out. She looked to the monitor as the lit up area slowly lowered down below the building and kept going.

"What…what is this?" Arial said shaking her head.

"Did you really think we were going to let you set all those monsters free into our world? Did you really think…that we wouldn't be prepared for an attempted prison break?" the soldier said as he struggled to pull the shard out from his shoulder. Arial screamed and held her ice claw towards his face, the man looking at the girl with wide eyes.

"What's happening here?" she yelled out with anger. The man looked at the frozen claw worriedly then to the snow angel.

"It's our security protocol…if we start to lose control of the holding cells." he said nervously.

"What security protocol? What are you talking about? What happened here?" Arial yelled out. Complica vanished then reappeared near the door as she swung her bat down, the blast door being torn apart violently by a tear through time. The destroyed fragments of the door flew out into a large empty chamber, with the butterfly girl looking around with wide eyes.

"What…what the heck happened? Where are the holding cells?" she asked as she saw nothing but darkness inside the doorway. Arial ran over and looked around, then down to see flashing red lights on the ground that was slowly dropping lower.

"What…is…is that the holding cells?" she asked with surprise. Sun ran over and looked down, the girl's eyes widening as emergency lights turned on all around the large empty chamber along the walls. She saw large metal treads on four sides of the empty area, then looked down to see the ground lowering with large gears spinning against the treads.

"The holding cells…they're being lowered into the ground." Complica said with wide eyes. Suddenly giant metal doors started closing from the sides of the walls below the girls, the large bay doors covering the hole into the ground with a large thud. The wounded soldier started chuckling as the girls looked over to him.

"Like hell we'll let those things go free. You and all your kind are going to hell, you fucking monsters." he spat out at them.

"Where are they going? What have you done to them?" Arial screamed as she ran over to him, the ground below her freezing over solid as she growled with rage. The man shivered a bit as frost appeared on his body, then chuckled weakly.

"The holding cells are suspended on metal tracks kid, in the event of a possible breakout the whole chamber is lowered down underground to keep anything from getting out into our world." he said.

"You're trying to bury them?" Arial yelled out. The man laughed and shook his head.

"No no, of course not. That wouldn't stop monsters from breaking out eventually. Those walls in the chamber may be strong but they couldn't guarantee a monster breakout I'm sure." he said with a dark smile.

"What's going to happen to them then? Why are they being lowered underground like that?" Complica asked nervously. The man glanced to her and chuckled.

"Simple, once all four security gates are closed above it, the chamber will be surrounded by 20 feet of reinforced steel and safely below the city. That way nobody else will be harmed when the bomb inside that chamber goes off." he said with hatred.

"Bomb?" Arial and Complica yelled out. Sun looked at the man with surprise then to the monitor, the siren seeing the lines representing the second security gate closing underneath the first one they saw below them. The soldier laughed a bit as Arial looked at the monitor with horror. She growled loudly and struck her ice claw down, the girl slicing into the skull of the man with a crunch. She swiped out to the side and splattered the blood and bone from his head before she screamed out.

"DARK!"


	3. Intertwined Intruders

The students at Yokai Academy were continuing with their day, all of them still in class as they were learning about how to properly coexist with humans once the two worlds finalized a peace treaty. Students and staff were going about their usual day, however all the teachers knew about recent events in the human world, and how peace may no longer be an option with the other world. They were however instructed to keep the students occupied with their studies until the dark lords could formulate what should be done next. The headmaster of the academy knew that once the truth was out the students would likely panic, and he didn't want a distraction right now as he was already busy with dealing with the impending crisis of both the human world declaring war on them and with this mysterious threat that was hiding in the dark world beyond.

In the cafeteria three girls were seated at a table near the window, all of them dressed in the Yokai Academy uniform. One had short black hair with silver clips to the sides, her teal colored eyes looking at one of her friends with worry. Even though Kyouko was from the human world she had opted to stay at the academy, both to wait for her cousin to return from wherever he was being held during his vampire trials, and to remain with her friends during their troubled times.

She was looking at her friend with concern as the other girl was looking out the window with a distant gaze. She had short black hair and red eyes, the chronofly's attention being far from the conversation at the table as so much had happened to her that day. Falla had woken up that morning with only one eye, single, and had only the goal of helping a boy she had fallen for open a mythical relic known as Pandora's Box. That had changed as Falla now had both her eyes, was in a relationship with a catalyst mage, and was horrified about how the world was already falling apart around her even though the mythical box her boyfriend was after hadn't even been reached yet. Her sister Luna was known to no longer be up in heaven, but had disappeared into a dark world of sorts. Not only that, but the world where she had disappeared was ruled by a strange and powerful monster, one that would use the rare chronofly he would have captured to breed more of the time altering monsters for the rest of her life. And on top of that the human world now had declared war on the monster world after this strange monster sent her original evil self along with two evil witch sisters after her, the being having taken their souls right out of hell apparently. Although Falla and her new friends from the human world managed to stop the three evil souls and destroy them once and for all, the damage from the battle caused the human world to turn against all monsters. Now she was known to be hunted by this strange monster due to her race, and was confined to the academy for protection until the group returned from rescuing Moka and the others.

And the one assigned to protect her was also looking at the chronofly with worry, the siren sister Rin. She had long hair that shifted from yellow to an orange tint at the bottom. She had a silver treble clef clip to one side of her bangs and wore large headphones over her ears, the device having a good amount of black duct tape holding it together after it was nearly destroyed the other day in an incident. Her blue eyes were watching Falla with worry as the chronofly had been quiet ever since the three girls came to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

"Falla?" Kyouko asked gently. The chronofly kept looking out the window with worry, the girl having not eaten as her tray remained untouched before her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Rin asked softly. Falla glanced to her then looked at the girls with a soft expression.

"What? I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked. Rin and Kyouko looked to each other then to the chronofly with worry.

"I know you're worried about them, but we have to remain positive here. I'm sure they'll be back soon with Moka and the others." Kyouko said gently.

"Yeah, your boyfriend has that scary pet with him, he can get my sister back for us. Right?" Rin asked worriedly. Falla smiled a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure he can Rin." she said softly. Kyouko and Rin nodded then looked down to their trays as well, the girls having only eaten a bit since they arrived there.

"I still can't believe so much went wrong today. It's like a bad dream." Kyouko said softly. Falla nodded and held a hand up to her left eye, the girl remembering how Ceal had torn the eye right out of her evil double's head and gave it back to her, the catalyst mage having given her back not only her mind and magic, but her eye as well. She had a boyfriend, a dragon slayer even, and yet she was still weighed down by how much the world had gone to hell around her. Her sister was captured and possibly being used as a breeder for more chronoflies, the human world was declaring war on monsters everywhere, and Moka and the others were scheduled to be executed that night as enemies of humanity.

"I would trade it all…" she said softly. Rin and Kyouko looked to her as she closed her eyes.

"I would give back my eye and my magic…to set things back to how they were before." she said softly.

"Falla." Kyouko said quietly.

"What about your boyfriend?" Rin asked. Falla looked to her then to Kyouko. After a pause she looked down.

"I…" she said quietly.

"Would you really trade him away to end this?" Kyouko asked. Falla hesitated then glanced back up to her.

"If it meant my sister…would be safe again…I…" she said reluctantly. She blinked then sighed and shook her head.

"I don't want to think about that, I…I can't choose something like that." she said quietly. The other two girls looked to each other then to her again.

"Ceal…I wish you were here with me right now." Falla said before looking down with closed eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek as the other two girls watched her with concern.

"I'll take that as a no then." Kyouko said softly.

"Don't cry Falla, that angel from before said we'll save your sister too, along with mine. It'll be ok." Rin said softly. Falla nodded as she sobbed a bit.

"Why is this happening? I was going to start a new life in the human world. I found a cute guy, and he does the most amazing things for me. I mean he healed my mind, put me back together after that other me tore me to pieces, and he even gave me back my eye. And then everything falls apart." she said as she covered her face with her hands and cried. Kyouko got up and walked around the table, the girl sitting next to her friend and holding her in a hug.

"Don't cry Falla, Rin's right. It'll be ok. Your boyfriend and the others will fix this, I know they will." she said reassuringly.

"Yeah, don't cry. Otherwise…you're going to get me going too." Rin said as she started crying. Kyouko and Falla looked to her as the siren started crying as well, the girl holding a hand to her eye and rubbing away the tears. As she did Falla looked at her curiously, the image of a blonde haired girl with headphones crying flashing before her eyes…along with flames flaring around behind her.

Falla stumbled back off her seat and fell to the ground with surprise, the girl looking at Rin with wide eyes as Kyouko and the siren looked down to her.

"Falla? Are you ok?" Kyouko asked. Falla slowly got back into her seat as she looked at Rin with wonder, the image being gone as she sat back down again. After a moment she slowly nodded.

"Yeah…just…" she said looking at Rin cautiously.

"What is it?" the siren asked as she wiped her tears away. Falla looked at her closely and shook her head a bit.

"I know I've seen you somewhere before, I'm positive. I just can't remember where for the life of me." she said unsurely. Kyouko looked to the siren as the blonde haired girl showed a puzzled expression.

"You have? But when?" she asked.

"Was it when your people made those headphones for her?" Kyouko asked looking to the device on the siren's head. Falla looked to it, the image of the headphones seeming to drive at something.

"I don't know, but…a girl with headphones and long blonde hair that shifted to orange at the bottom, I've seen that before. I know I have…" she said looking down in thought. She grabbed her head and shook a bit, the girl closing her eyes with frustration.

"Why is all this happening at once? If there's one thing we chronoflies hate its headaches and all this crap is giving me a bad one." she said shaking her head. Kyouko held her worriedly as Rin showed a concerned expression.

"It'll be ok Falla. The others are going to be ok, and your sister too. They'll put an end to this nightmare, I just know they will." Kyouko said gently. Rin nodded and looked down to her food tray.

"I hope so too." she said softly. She sighed and stood up as she picked up the tray.

"I'm not hungry anymore, all this worrying has ruined my appetite." she said as she started to walk off. Falla looked to seeing the siren walking away, her long blonde hair swaying a bit behind her as her headphones rested on her head. The image of the girl with her white feathered wings flashed before Falla's eyes, along with flames and screaming surrounding her. The chronofly shook her head with closed eyes then looked back to see Rin walking away normally again.

"Falla?" Kyouko asked.

"Something's not right Kyouko." Falla said softly. Kyouko looked at her worriedly then to Rin as the siren dumped her tray in the trash and looked up with a worried expression. Falla felt a cold chill run down her spine as she looked at the siren that was going to be guarding her from the dark world.

"Something about that girl…it's not right." she said shakily.

"What do you mean? She seems so nice." Kyouko said curiously.

"Yeah, but…I know I've seen her somewhere before, something about her…I'm just getting a bad feeling." Falla said softly. She trembled a bit and looked to the window again.

"Ceal…please come back to me soon." she said quietly.

* * *

"DARK!" Arial screamed out as she ran into the large empty chamber that used to be the holding cells in the HDA command center. The entire atrium had been lowered down below are large tracks as high level blast doors had sealed up behind it. The snow angel ran onto the large steel door and looked around at it with fright. Complica and Sun ran in and looked down with fear as sirens continued to sound off in the adjacent hallway.

"Oh no! Oh no oh no oh no! They're going to be blown to bits down there!" Complica cried out. Arial looked around with fright then to the chronofly angel.

"Dig Complica! Use your time magic and cut through this thing, hurry!" she yelled out. Complica looked around then gripped her bat, the girl shifting over slightly as a crevice tore apart below her from her swing through time. She looked down to see that she tore apart a good chunk of metal with her swing, but didn't break through to the other side. She shifted over slightly again, the girl's hands appearing over to the side as she held her bat up while more of the ground below her blasted off into fragments. The girls looked down to seeing the crevice had grown larger and deeper, but still did not come out on the other side.

"Oh no, how deep is this anyway?" Complica said as she shifted again, the girl tearing apart more of the steel below them with a powerful swing through time. The crevice turned into a small hole of torn metal as the girls looked down into it. Sun looked at the ground with frustration then ran back out into the hallway, the siren looking at the monitor that showed the layout of the building and the decent of the holding chamber. The second set of bay doors over it had closed and the third was slowly starting to.

_When all four gates close…it's going to blow!_

She waved to the other girls, the two running out quickly and looking at the monitor.

"The third gate…if they all close that bomb will explode." Complica said with fear.

"We have to get Dark out of there!" Arial cried out. She grabbed Complica and started shaking her.

"You have to dig down to them now! Hurry!" she yelled out. The chronofly looked at with wide eyes then broke free from the girl's grip.

"I can't cut through that much in time! And even if I did how are we going to get them all out of there? We can't fly them all out of there!" she cried out.

"You're a chronofly, can't you do all that in a single moment in time?" Arial yelled out.

"I can't use my magic properly you know that! I can't stay shifted too long without something going wrong and if I shift and try to carry them I might do to them what I did to those soldiers earlier!" Complica said shaking her head. Arial stepped back and gripped her hair, the girl screaming as the ground below her froze over.

"NO! DARK!" she screamed out as a cold blast of air shot around the hallway. Sun and Complica looked at her with sorrow then at the monitor as the third gate closed.

"No…one more and it's going to blow!" Complica cried out. Arial screamed and ran back into the empty chamber, the girl swiping furiously at the ground with her ice claws.

"NO! DARK! DARK!" she shrieked as she started crying. She struck at the metal barrier with all her might then started pounding her fists on it.

"DARK! PLEASE DON'T TAKE HIM FROM ME! PLEASE!" she cried out. Sun and Complica looked at the angel with sorrow then to the monitor as the fourth gate started to close.

"The last gate…" Complica said holding a hand over her mouth. Sun shook her head with sorrow then looked back to the gate on the ground.

_We can't get to them…we can't get them out in time._

"DARK! PLEASE DON'T DIE, I LOVE YOU!" Arial cried out as she dropped to the ground crying loudly, the ground around her freezing over as she screamed loudly. Sun and Complica looked to the monitor as the fourth gate was almost closed.

"No…its closing!" Complica cried out. Sun held a hand over her mouth and shook her head as Arial screamed loudly.

"DON'T LEAVE ME DARK!"

Complica shut her eyes and buried her face into Sun's dress as the siren looked at the monitor with remorse. She blinked then looked at it curiously. Complica paused then slowly looked up to her, then over to the monitor. Arial cried a bit then looked around slowly as nothing was felt or heard below.

"What…wait, what happened?" she asked quietly. She looked back to seeing Sun and Complica looking at the monitor with puzzled expressions.

"What happened? It…it didn't blow up?" she said standing back up. Sun just shook her head then tilted it slightly. Arial ran back over to them and looked at the monitor. The fourth gate had stopped a hair from closing all the way, the icon showing a red exclamation mark flashing by the side of the wall where the gate came from.

"What happened?" Complica asked.

"The gate…it stopped?" Arial said with surprise.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me!" Render shouted out, the boy pulling on one of his swords as the angular blade was caught between two giant gears to his side. Ruby and Razico's group were on small walkways suspended over large gears and pistons, the group looking back to the battlemage as he tried pulling on his sword that was caught between two large gears that were mounted on the side of the spacious underground room.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked.

"My sword got caught in these stupid gears, that's what happened! I mean what's the point of having them so damned close to the walkway anyway, that's gotta be a safety hazard or something! Who designed this place?" Render barked out as he put his foot on the gear and tried pulling his blade out, the sword stuck in the gears tightly yet holding strong. Creaking and squealing sounds echoed out as the gears tried to turn while nearby gears and pistons were moving faster now.

"Can't you watch where you're waving those things around?" Leon said tiredly.

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to feed my beautiful sword to these things!" Render shouted out as he tried to pull his sword out still. He stuck his other sword into the walkway, the blade's edge protruding out the bottom a bit, and grabbed his trapped sword with both hands.

"C'mon you…give it back!" he yelled as he put both feet to the gears, the boy now pushing off from the wall as the group watched with blank expressions.

"Um…Render? Is that…safe?" Apoch asked nervously. Should the boy manage to free the sword how he was going about it he would be launched off the walkway and down into the moving gears and mechanisms in the room, something that clearly wasn't registering in his mind at the moment.

"Are you crazy? Get down from there." Ruby said shaking her head.

"I'm not leaving my sword here like this, it took forever to carve it just right." Render said as he tried to pull his sword out from the lodged gears.

"Would you hurry up already?" Ceal asked with a tone of annoyance.

"I'm trying here!" Render barked back.

"You have plenty more of those things in the magical ether, losing one won't kill you." Leon said tiredly.

"Plenty more? How many of those swords does he have?" Kokoa said looking to the battlemage.

"He has dozens of those things." Leon said shaking his head.

"Dozens?" Razico said looking to Render with surprise, the battlemage still trying to pull his sword out of the gears with both feet against the wall.

"This is my 28th sword, it's special to me!" he shouted out.

"28th?" Apoch said with wide eyes.

"Why do you have so many?" Gin said with surprise.

"Hey, it's a passion of mine alright?" Render barked out while glaring at the group. He resumed trying to pull the sword free as the group just watched him with wonder.

"Just let it go man, we've got to keep going." Leon said with exasperation.

"Never! Each one of my swords I put my heart and soul into! Polishing and forming into perfect blades of awesomeness, I can't let one of them go like this! They're a part of my very being!" Render called out with energy. He got down onto the walkway and tried pulling on the sword with both hands as she growled loudly.

"I remember the exact day I made this sword, it was on a Thursday after school, the day we tried making those homemade fireworks. I needed to relax after we nearly burned our place down to the ground, so I got to work on this beauty." Render said as she tried again and again to yank the sword free.

"Homemade fireworks?" Astreal asked.

"Yeah, didn't turn out well. Fire everywhere, nearly died, not my fault." Render said simply.

"It was entirely your fault, you were the one _making_ those damned things." Leon said looking up with a tired expression.

"Not the point here buddy, the point is that each one of these things I put my heart into, and no way would I leave one behind. Never!" Render said as he gripped the handle to his blade and pulled with great strength. Apoch watched him with wonder as the battlemage growled loudly.

"It's just a sword Render, you have plenty more. And by the sound of it you can make another to replace it anyway." Razico said shaking his head.

"Just leave it, we have to find my big sis and the others." Kokoa said with urgency.

"No way!" Render said as he kept pulling on the handle. He blinked then looked to see Apoch running up next to him and grabbing on as well, the witch putting her foot to the wall and pulling alongside him.

"Apoch what are you doing? We need to keep moving." Ruby said shaking her head.

"He wants his sword back, so I'm going to help him get it back." Apoch said as she tried pulling with all her might to get the sword. The boy glanced to her and smiled then looked back to the sword with determination.

"Sister it's just a sword, he's got dozens more." Astreal said.

"Rason has dozens of feathers on his wings, but you cherished each one didn't you?" Apoch said glancing to her with narrowed eyes. Astreal jumped a bit and looked at her with surprise as Leon raised an eyebrow.

"But…that was different." Astreal said shaking her head.

"No it isn't, he said it himself. Each one is part of him, he made them all himself and put his heart and soul into them. To leave it behind is to leave a part of him behind, and I won't do that." Apoch said as she strained to pull the blade free. Astreal looked at them with wonder then down a bit.

"Rason? The other angel that's here?" Leon asked glancing to Astreal. The girl jumped and smiled nervously at him.

"Well…yeah. He's my…ex-boyfriend…sort of." she said with a weak laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. Leon looked at her curiously then to Apoch and Render. The two kept pulling on the sword as gears started to squeak and whine around them as they spun faster. The blade started to budge as the gears trembled a bit.

"C'mon…just let it go already!" Render yelled out. Apoch growled loudly as she helped pull on the blade, the sword budging a bit as the group watched them curiously.

"Almost got it." Apoch growled as she kept pulling on the handle. Render pulled as he put a foot against the wall, the boy using all his strength as the sword started to slowly budge. The gears started to creak and tremble as the two kept pulling on the blade.

"Just…give…it…back!" Render yelled, the boy giving one hard yank on the sword. The blade struck out and the two gears shot off from the wall, the metal objects just missing Render and Apoch as they flew down onto the moving gears and pistons below them, the broken cogs jamming into more of the working gears and jamming them instantly. Apoch stumbled back a bit then looked to see Render holding his sword proudly. He smirked and winked at her with a confident expression.

"Thanks for the help babe." he said. Apoch just stared at him as she felt her heart skip a beat, the girl slowly nodding as she smiled softly at him.

"Babe?" Ruby said with an amused smile. Render chuckled and pointed his sword at Leon.

"You see? I never leave a sword behind." he said proudly. Leon rolled his eyes and looked at his friend with a dull expression.

"Fine, you got your sword back, now we can all sleep tonight without any regret. Since that crisis is over with, can we get going now?" he asked.

The place started rumbling as steam started to shoot up around the area. The group looked to see gears spinning quickly while a few others fell off their handles and crashed down below. Other gears were jammed shut and started squealing as their motors started smoking.

"Um…what's going on?" Gin asked worriedly. A large gear dropped down behind the group and smashed through the walkway, the group stumbling forward as the narrow walkway started swaying and rattling with the tremors. The remaining gears on the walls started spinning wildly as a few jammed into place and cracked slightly.

"I think we should get out of here, now!" Gabriel said looking around. The group ran down the walkway as a few pipes and broken gears dropped down behind them and smashed apart more of the walkway. They ran across the area and jumped through the door out of the large room, just as the walkway gave away and fell down with a crash. Metal screeching and crashing sounds echoed out as the place seemed to fall apart. The group regained themselves out in the hallway that had stairs leading up to the ground level, then looked back to the room as the area seemed to collapse into itself. They watched large gears and metal beams drop while dust kicked up inside the engine room then looked to Render, the battlemage watching the chaos inside the room before looking to the angular blade in his hand.

"Way to go man, we're supposed to be sneaking through this place, remember?" Leon said looking at his friend with annoyance.

"Yeah, we finally lose the HDA soldiers down here and then you destroy more of their base, I'm pretty sure they know we're down here now." Razico said shaking his head.

"You nearly got us all killed for that damned sword, what the hell man?" Gin yelled out. Render examined the blade and breathed out.

"Thank god." he said softly. The group looked at him puzzled as he looked to Leon with a smile.

"Not a scratch on it. Lucky break huh?" he asked.

"Lucky break? I'll give you a lucky break! You nearly got us crushed all for a piece of metal!" Kokoa yelled as she swung at him furiously with her giant morning star, the girl being held back by Gin as the weapon just missed Render with each swing. The group jumped away from the wide arc of the weapon as Render just watched her curiously.

"What's her deal?" he asked puzzled. Astreal and Ruby looked at the battlemage with dull expressions then over to Apoch, the girl looking at her boyfriend curiously. The witch blinked then glanced to them.

"Well…he wanted it back. Nothing wrong with that." she said with a nervous smile.

"He nearly got us all killed." Ruby said flatly. Apoch twitched a bit and looked at him worriedly.

"But…it was his sword." she said softly.

"He has dozens more." Astreal said flatly. Apoch looked down then glanced to them timidly.

"But he looks hot with them." she said quietly. Astreal and Ruby rolled their eyes and looked back to seeing Kokoa still swinging around at the battlemage with fury in her eyes.

"Kokoa, calm down, he's on our side remember?" Gin said as he held the raging redhead back.

"Our side? He nearly got us all killed!" Kokoa yelled out.

"Hey c'mon, I didn't mean for that place to fall apart like that." Render said defensively. Ceal just stared at the battlemage with a dull expression, the boy wondering if Falla would be alright with him killing the mage under the circumstances. Gabriel looked around from inside the doorway at the destroyed engine room of sorts.

"Well…not like we should care what happens to their base here anyway. For all we know us breaking that place may have been a good thing." he said with a shrug.

* * *

"It's a miracle. The gate stopped. It stopped!" Arial said with a bright smile. She laughed a bit and looked to the others, both looking at the monitor with wonder. The flashing red exclamation mark was showing right next to the fourth gate, just before it had closed all the way.

"It stopped, I wonder what happened." Complica said curiously. Sun looked at the monitor carefully then to the doorway leading into the chamber.

"Who cares how it happened? It's the answer to our prayers! Now we can free my Dark!" Arial cheered out. Sun looked to the monitor and examined the flashing red area on the screen carefully. Arial jumped up with a cheer then grabbed Complica's arm.

"C'mon, now's our chance to bust them out!" she said tugging on the chronofly's arm. Sun shook her head and pointed to the screen. The two angels looked at it curiously then to her.

"What is it Sun?" Complica asked.

"Yeah, it's broken. We can see that, now let's bust them out of that place while we can." Arial said looking to the doorway. Sun shook her head and brought out her sketchpad, the siren writing something down quickly as the girls watched her. She pointed to the screen then showed them the pad.

We need to get down to where that failure happened quickly.

"What? Why would we want to do that?" Arial said puzzled. Sun wrote down something else and showed them the pad with a worried expression.

That gate is an inch away from closing. If they fix the problem it'll blow before we can get anybody out, maybe even with us along with it.

The girls read the pad then jumped a bit, then looked to the monitor with worry.

"What? But…Dark." Arial said looking back to the doorway.

"If they fix the problem it'll finish the final gate's closure right away, we'll be killed for sure if we're down there. No! If we die Arial then we're gone forever!" Complica cried out. Arial growled with frustration then looked back to the monitor.

"But…he's right down there! I can't just leave him like this!" she cried out. Sun shook her head and wrote down something else.

We can't get down to him without some serious digging, even with Complica's magic. We need to make sure they can't close that gate ever, this might just be a slight mechanical problem. They might be trying to fix it right now.

Arial read the pad then looked down with frustration.

"No…I'm so close. He's so close! I'm so close to being with my husband again!" she yelled out, with snow flying around her in a small torrent. The girl growled with rage and looked to the monitor.

_Dammit, but she's right. If that gate finishes closing Dark's a goner. It could be fixed any second now, we need to make sure that bomb can't go off._

The snow angel growled as the ground below her froze over slightly, the girl's eyes shifting to white briefly before back to normal.

"Alright fine, let's get going then. My husband's waiting down there for me right now, I'm not going to keep him waiting long." Arial said looking around. Sun nodded then looked at the monitor carefully.

"Alright, so where do we go then?" Complica asked. Sun looked at the layout of the building then pointed down the hall, the siren clipping her sketchpad to her hip and running off with the two angels right behind her.

* * *

Inside the holding cell chamber the group was looking around as all had fallen dark inside the atrium. All the lights had flickered then shut off after the entire chamber had shaken wildly. Monsters that were still in their cells were yelling and shouting out as the group slowly regained themselves.

"What the hell was that? An earthquake?" Kurumu said as she tried to stand back up.

"It felt like…we were moving." Yukari said as she stumbled back to her feet.

"I can't see anything, what's going on?" Moka said as she slowly stood up again. There no emergency lights or anything, the group only seeing total darkness around them.

"Is everybody ok?" Rason asked as he helped his girlfriend stand. The girl squealed a bit then giggled.

"Oh Rason, you know just how to check for my vitals don't you?" she said coyly. The boy jumped a bit and stammered as he felt he was holding onto her arm and breast with his hands.

"What? No, I wasn't trying to…I mean I just thought…um, glad you're ok?" he said nervously with a smile. Mizore sighed softly then glanced down.

"Dark? Is…that you holding me?" she asked softly.

"Whoops! Sorry!" Ahakon said stumbling away and holding his hands back.

"Ahakon!" Yukari yelled out.

"I'm sorry, I can't see anything, I thought she was you." the boy said worriedly.

"I'm over here! How could you think she was me?" Yukari yelled out.

"Actually, he thought my thigh was you." Mizore said simply.

"Ahakon!" Yukari shouted out.

"I said I was sorry! I can't see any of you!" the boy cried out defensively.

"Going to pretend that didn't happen." Dark said flatly.

"I didn't know!" Ahakon cried out.

"Is that why your hand was moving upwards?" Mizore asked curiously.

"Start running kid." Dark said with a tone of annoyance.

"Wow Ahakon, touching Dark's wife during a blackout, you've got some balls." Kurumu said with a laugh.

"I didn't mean to!" Ahakon shouted out.

"Would everybody calm down, we need to figure out what happened here." Moka called out.

"Well the whole area was sealed off, the place shook like an earthquake, the lights went out, and Ahakon felt up Mizore." Rason said simply.

"No I didn't!" Ahakon cried out with tears forming.

"That's not what I meant! Wait…where's Ran? Ran?" Moka called out.

"Ran? You still here?" Kurumu called out. They heard the yelling and shouting of the prisoners all inside the atrium, and a quiet whimpering sound nearby.

"Ran?" Yukari asked. She held up her wand as is started to glow. Rason's wings extended out slightly and glowed brightly as well, the two sources of light illuminating the area around them. They saw the sealed blast door near them along with Ran curled up into a ball on the ground. The siren was trembling while whimpering quietly.

"Ran? What's wrong?" Moka asked kneeling down next to her. The siren shakily glanced over to her as she kept curled up into a ball.

"Too dark…too dark…make it stop." She said fearfully.

"What's wrong with her?" Ahakon asked. The siren trembled then stumbled over to him quickly and held him close, the boy's face being lodged in her chest as she cried out.

"I hate the darkness! I don't want to be in here, get me out get me out get me out!" she shrieked as she shook the boy in her embrace, the mage flailing about as he couldn't breathe. He pried the girl off and leaned back, only for the siren to hold him closely again, this time around the waist as she had her head next to his.

"Get me out of here! Please!" she cried out.

"Ran? Calm down, it's just a blackout." Ahakon said worriedly.

"Let go of him, it's just a blackout." Yukari said pulling on the siren's arm.

"I hate the dark! I hate the dark!" Ran cried out.

"What's wrong Ran? Why are…" Moka said before she looked at the siren. Everybody stopped and watched as the siren trembled with her eyes closed, the girl holding onto Ahakon for dear life. It was more than apparent the girl was scared out of her wits.

"Ran? It's ok, it's just a blackout. Why are you so scared?" Ahakon asked.

"It's…it's just like before!" Ran cried out shaking her head.

"Before?" Kurumu asked. Moka looked at the siren with a gentle gaze then down.

"When they were slaves to that evil monster." she said gently. The group looked to her then to Ran. Yukari blinked then showed a sympathetic expression.

"When…you and your sisters were kept in the darkness." she said softly. The siren trembled while holding onto the young mage tightly, the girl fearing being trapped in the dark once again.

"Get me out of here! Get me out of here I hate being in the dark! No more! No more!" she cried out.

"Ran, it's going to be alright. We'll get out of here, just try to calm down." Ahakon said worriedly. Ran shakily leaned back and looked at him as he smiled a bit.

"I promise, you're not going to be trapped in the darkness again." he said gently. The girl slowly nodded then looked down worriedly. She let go and slowly stood up, the girl trembling still as Moka walked over and held her gently. Yukari looked at the siren with a bit of sympathy then down. She couldn't get too mad at the siren for clinging to her boyfriend like that, the girl was scared to death of the darkness and needed her hero's comfort. The group looked at the frightened siren then around as crashing sounds were heard echoing out. Rason and Yukari walked over towards the edge of the walkway and looked down to see red flashes streaking by below along with howls. They looked to their side as a cell door smashed outward then blasted off as a large horned brute charged out, the monster roaring as he looked around with yellow eyes.

"Looks like everybody's breaking out now." Mizore said looking around. Sounds of cell doors being blasted open echoed out as the prisoners started shifting into their monster forms. Some took to the air with wings while others charged around on the walkways towards the blast doors, all the rampaging monsters hardly seen as only flickers of fire and flashes of magic were seen around the atrium.

"Well that's great for them, but what about us? We're still trapped in here." Kurumu said looking back to the blast door near them. Yukari looked back to it then aimed her wand at the door, the girl's magic flaring up as the group stepped away.

"Magical BLAST!" she yelled out, the witch sending out her trademark burst of magical energy. The ball shot over and struck into the door, then exploded into a bright flash. The group shielded their eyes then watched as the light faded. The impact site was burnt and smoking, however the door remained standing strong.

"Damn, not even a scratch." Yukari said shaking her head. The group looked around to hearing banging and roaring sounds, the other prisoners trying to bust through the blast doors as well. Fireballs were shot at the doors while larger brutes tried smashing against them.

"Everybody's trying to bust out of here now." Moka said worriedly.

"Doesn't look like they're having any better luck." Rason said shaking his head.

"What do we do? We're trapped in here. We're trapped. Trapped in the darkness." Ran said as she was shaking. Moka held her worriedly then looked to the door.

"There must be something strong enough to get through that door." she said worriedly.

"My magic didn't even make a dent, what else could we use?" Yukari asked looking around. Rason looked around then to his girlfriend.

"Kurumu, what about you?" he asked.

"Me? How am I going to break that door down?" she said with surprise.

"She may have oversized boobs, but I highly doubt she'll be able to knock the door down with them." Yukari said shaking her head.

"Hey! Watch your mouth you little brat! At least I have assets for my boyfriend to enjoy, unlike somebody!" Kurumu yelled out pointing to her. Yukari growled and raised her wand before Rason grabbed her arm. The angel shook his head then looked to the blast door with a focused expression.

"No, I mean with her full power. She managed to stop Tsukune with that much strength, maybe she can bust through that door as well." He said hopefully.

"My full power? Wait, no. I can't do that. Every time I use that much demonic power I…I…" she said shakily.

"You lose it and rape anybody you see. But your demonic energy is enormous then, with that much strength maybe you can tear through this door." Mizore said simply.

"She's right, if you use just enough power to break the door, you can stop yourself and calm down before you go out of control." Ahakon said looking up in thought. Kurumu shook her head and grabbed onto her boyfriend with fright.

"No! I can't risk that, I'm not ready to use that much power in a fight yet, what if I lose control again? What'll happen to my poor Rason? I don't want to lose control and turn into that demon again, I have to protect my angel! There's no way I'm doing that again, I can't put him through the torment of an out of control succubus." she said fearfully.

"Yet you're ok with suffocating him again?" Dark asked raising an eyebrow. Kurumu blinked then looked down to seeing Rason shoved into her breasts and slowly losing consciousness. Yukari watched with a blank expression then looked to Ran.

"For the record, if you ever do that again to my boyfriend I'll kill you." she said flatly. Ran jumped a bit and nodded fearfully. Kurumu cried out and let go, the angel then dropping to the ground gasping for air. Mizore just looked down at the angel as he slowly regained himself then shrugged.

"He's in grave danger either way. I say give it a try." she said looking back to Kurumu.

"Rason? Rason are you alright?" the succubus said as she quickly knelt down next to the angel. He shook his head a bit and smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I'm alright dear, don't worry about it." he said with a small chuckle. He slowly stood up with Kurumu's help then looked to his girlfriend with hopeful eyes.

"But please Kurumu, you have to try. We all know with your demonic blood you can get incredibly powerful, you might be the only one who can break down this door." He said. The succubus bit her lip and looked around. Other monsters were crawling/flying/running/slithering/oozing around the area while many were banging or charging against the doors that had them trapped here. However they too weren't making any progress in breaking out of the darkened atrium.

"But…I can't. What if I lose control again?" she asked fearfully.

"Just hurry up and break down the door, please!" Ran cried out with fright.

"You'll only need a quick second's worth of power to break through the door, you can stop the power from building up any more after that." Moka said reassuringly.

"Yeah, and if you do lose it I'll just knock you out like always." Yukari said with a bright smile, the witch looking forward to the opportunity to do so again. Kurumu looked around at the group then to Rason.

"Please Kurumu, I know you can do it." he said gently.

"Rason…" she said softly. She looked to the door then down a bit.

"Alright. I'll give it a shot at least." she said unsurely. She breathed out then looked to the door as the group stepped back from her. She focused on her demonic blood, the girl's eyes staring at the door intently as she clenched her fists. Her monster aura started to build gradually and flare around her, the group watching her carefully as she tried to bring out her full demonic energy. Her wings and tail started to smoke as the group watched the girl stand there, her purple eyes glowing softly as her muscles started to tighten slightly. She concentrated on her demonic blood, the girl focusing on bringing out all the energy she could from within. After a while her wings and tail ignited with purplish flames, the fires burning wildly as her power skyrocketed. Monsters around the atrium stopped what they were doing then looked up towards the purplish glow and to where they all felt a massive amount of monster energy just appear out of nowhere.

"Kurumu…" Rason said softly as he watched his girlfriend stand there, the boy seeing a massive amount of dark energy flowing around the girl wildly. She narrowed her eyes then darted towards the door, the girl striking out with a powerful punch. The group watched as the door seemed to crush in as a large indentation was shot into the heavy steel. The mangled door shot back a bit then stopped, the succubus then punching forward again with a powerful strike. The door smashed in further as it was crushed back into more steel behind it.

"What? But…where's the exit?" she said as she punched again. The heavy blast door was crushed inward and pushed back into a wall of steel, the metal bending in a bit as the group looked with wide eyes. Kurumu backed up a bit as her purple flames lit up the area around her, the girl looking with surprise at seeing nothing but more steel behind the blast door.

"What is this? Where did the stairwell go?" Yukari said looking at the solid wall of steel.

"There's nothing but more steel behind it? Where did all that come from?" Ahakon said with surprise. Kurumu looked at the wall of steel cautiously then around.

"I don't get it, what did they do? Where did the stairs go?" Rason said scratching his head.

"We felt the place move earlier after that announcement. They said they were going to remove this place from the facility. The entire holding cell sector was removed from their command center." Dark said looking around.

"But…then where are we?" Moka asked worriedly.

"Best guess, under the command center." Dark said looking up. The group looked up with surprise.

"They buried us?" Ran said with fright. She started breathing heavily as the thought of being trapped in the darkness _while_ deep underground wasn't doing wonders to stop her fear.

"Holy shit, they lowered the entire holding cell block underground?" Rason said with disbelief. Kurumu growled then darted out into the open atrium through the metal fence, the girl then shooting up towards the ceiling as the group looked up at her. She yelled out as she struck up at the concrete ceiling with her fist, the girl blasting apart the stone blocks with great force. Behind the concrete was more reinforced steel and severed wiring, the succubus then gearing back and punching up at it again. The steel indented upwards and creaked loudly as more concrete blocks dropped around her. The group watched as the succubus struck again and again at the ceiling with great power, the girl smashing the steel upwards with each hit.

"Look at that…just how strong is she now?" Ahakon asked in wonder.

"She's the Lord of Hell's daughter, she's in a league all her own like that." Moka said softly, the vampire still in awe about how strong her friend really was. The succubus struck again and again at the steel barrier, then with one more strike she blasted up through it and into the air. She looked around to seeing the ground below her having flashing red lights, with giant gears on the four sides of the lowered chamber that were situated against heavy steel tracks. She looked around at the empty space then up to seeing a large set of steel bay doors a few feet up, the two large thick gates almost closed all the way. Behind them she saw another set of steel gates that were already closed.

"They tried to seal us away underground." she said in wonder. She then flew down through the opening and back down to her friends, the girl landing down before dropping to her hands and knees.

"Kurumu, are you ok?" Rason said worriedly. The girl nodded as she took a deep breath, then shakily looked up to him as her fires died out. She slowly stood up and walked towards him, then collapsed into his arms as he held her worriedly.

"Yeah…just…so hot." she said quietly as she buried her face into his chest. She had stopped herself from going out of control completely, yet was still greatly turned on and was trying to calm her mind. She took a few deep breaths then looked around at the others, the girl having a blush on her face.

"They tried to seal us away…there's more giant bay doors above us. One of them isn't closed all the way, but the one behind it is." she said looking up. The group looked up with worry then to each other.

"So that's what happened. That's a bit extreme to stop a prison break isn't it?" Moka said worriedly.

"We're monsters, they must have thought sealing us away would be the only way to stop us from getting out into their city." Mizore said softly.

"So now what do we do?" Yukari asked.

"Can you break through what's above us?" Ahakon asked Kurumu. The succubus took a deep breath then looked down with a heavy blush still.

"Not…right now. I nearly lost it just getting through the ceiling to this place. I need to cool down first…my body still feels so hot right now." she said weakly. Rason held her gently as the girl looked up to him.

"You did great Kurumu, thank you for trying." He said before he kissed her. She closed her eyes as the bond shot through her like lightning, the world around her turning into a blurry haze as she relished the feeling. When the kiss ended she looked at him with a deep loving gaze.

"Rason…" she said under her breath.

"Kurumu…" he said gently.

"Rason…" she said softly.

"Kurumu…" he said gently.

She looked at him for a moment then down with closed eyes, the girl holding him around the waist as she fidgeted. She trembled a bit and shook her head.

"Dammit I want you so bad!" she cried out as she held onto him, the boy smiling weakly and holding her still. Her hips started fidgeting from side to side as she rubbed her breasts against his chest, the girl wanting to go wild with her Destined One with every fiber of her being.

"It's so unbearable, I can't stand this! I need you I need you I need you!" she whined loudly. The angel smiled a bit at her and held the girl close, the succubus whimpering as she tried to calm down her libido.

"You can have all the quality time with him you want once we get out of here Kurumu." Moka said looking back up to the ceiling as she held the frightened siren still.

"So now what do we do? We're trapped underground unless Kurumu can break through whatever's above us." Ahakon said looking up to the ceiling.

"How long before she can do that?" Ran asked nervously. The group looked to Kurumu as she was dry humping Rason, the girl's legs wobbling as she was looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"Please? Can't we find an empty jail cell or something? It's dark here, nobody will see." she whimpered quietly. The boy smiled weakly and shook his head.

"Now isn't the time for that my dear, just…try to control yourself." he said as he held her gently. The girl whined and bounced up and down, the girl's breasts rubbing against his chest repeatedly.

"Please please please please." she begged quietly. Moka sighed and looked back up to the broken ceiling. Other winged monsters were flying up through it, though the vampire knew they wouldn't be going anywhere beyond that.

"Might be a while." she said shaking her head. The group looked up to the opening in the ceiling that was just barely visible. They were trapped underground in the dark while their fellow imprisoned monsters were running around in a riot. Only Kurumu seemed able to break through the reinforced holding chamber, although she nearly lost it due to using too much of her power. There was no telling how much of her strength would be needed to break through whatever was sealing them in from above, or how long it would take her provided she needed to cool off before she lost control of her body and mind.

* * *

Sun and her two angel companions were running down the hallway as sirens were sounding off and red lights were flashing about, the three girls rushing towards where the final security gate for the holding chamber had a malfunction of some sort. They had to make sure that the final gate couldn't be closed at all, otherwise the bomb to the holding cells would go off and kill everybody inside. As they ran down the hall Arial was growling with frustration, the angel knowing where her beloved demon was yet not being able to reach him yet.

_Just wait a bit longer Dark, I'll get you out of here no matter what. I swear as your wife I won't fail you._

They rounded a corner at an intersection and looked around quickly as sirens continued to go off. Complica held her bat tightly in her hands as Arial glanced to Sun.

"Which way?" she said quickly. Sun looked around carefully then ran down a hallway with the two angels following. They ran up to a t-intersection just as two HDA soldiers rounded the corner. In a flash Complica shifted forward and swung down with her bat, the girl blasting off the arm and right shoulder of a soldier with a strike through time. Arial fired out an ice shard and pinned the soldier to the wall through the left shoulder, the snow angel then racing up and striking her frozen claw into the man's chest. Sun ran up and kicked back the other soldier, the siren grabbing his rifle then bashing him with it. He stumbled back into the wall as the girl aimed at him with the gun. The man shook off the hit then raised his hands up a bit as the three girls glared at him. The siren narrowed her eyes a bit as the soldier glanced from the gun to her quickly.

"Easy there girl…don't be stupid." He said slowly. Arial and Complica watched him carefully then glanced to Sun as the girl was looking at the soldier with a bit of frustration. He lunged forward to grab it before the girl fired the weapon, the rifle shooting through his chest and neck repeatedly. He flew back and slumped down against the wall as the siren lowered the gun. She glanced to the monster angels then looked around, the siren then running down a hallway with the two angels right behind her. They ran up towards another four way intersection, the three girls then jumping against the wall as they heard gunfire echoing out while bullets shot out ahead of them. The intersection and part of the corner was shot apart as the girls watched with surprise. Yelling and shouting along with gunfire was heard around the corner, the three monster girls looking to each other then towards the corner.

"How did they know we were coming this way?" Complica asked. A grenade exploded from around the corner, the girls moving back a bit as smoke flew about around the intersection.

"Just run over there and hit them with your bat Complica, you can go through time. They'll never see you coming." Arial said nudging her friend. Another explosion blasted from down the hallway as more screams of agony were heard. Complica blinked then shook her head.

"No…I'd rather not right now. They seem busy." she said nervously. The girls waited as the yelling and gunfire slowly stopped, then they only heard the sirens going off around them. Sun glanced to the two angels then inched closer towards the corner. She paused then darted around it while aiming her gun down the hall. Arial and Complica watched as the siren slowly walked out while aiming at something. The two angels walked out carefully and saw the siren pointing her gun at a lone figure in the hallway. HDA soldiers were torn apart and strewn around the hallway, their bloody remains dripping from the walls and ceiling while bullet holes were everywhere. And standing in the middle of the corridor was a single boy who was looking at the siren with blue eyes.

"What…happened here?" Complica asked looking around at the slaughtered HDA soldiers. The two angels looked at the boy as he raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Ceal asked curiously. Sun glanced around at all the dead humans then back to the boy, the girl then glancing to his reptilian hand.

"His hand…he's not human." Arial said looking at the limb with wonder.

"Who is he?" Complica asked looking at the boy while holding her bat nervously. Ceal looked at the girls curiously then smirked a bit. Sun narrowed her eyes and shook her gun towards him a bit. The boy chuckled and tilted his head.

"Oh? Are you going to try to shoot me?" he asked with a tone of amusement.

"You're not part of the HDA…are you?" Arial asked cautiously. A bloodied disembodied arm dropped from the ceiling and plopped onto the ground along with a crushed skull of a soldier. Ceal glanced down to the remains of the human then back to the girls.

"What was your first clue?" he asked flatly. Sun looked around at the ravaged hallway then back to the boy with caution. He looked at her for a moment then glanced to Complica.

"Butterfly wings." He said looking at the girl's wings. She glanced back to them then looked back to the boy nervously. He looked at her curiously and tilted his head.

"I've only seen one type of monster with those wings before. However I was under the impression that only two were left in existence." He said.

"You know about the chronoflies?" Arial asked cautiously. The boy merely nodded as he eyed the young chronofly curiously. Complica looked at him with wonder then down the hall behind him to see more soldiers rounding the corner. The five armed humans aimed their guns at them as Ceal merely glanced back to them. Sun and the two monster girls looked with surprise as the men fired at them, with gunfire echoing out as shell casings dropped around the soldiers. The bullets flew at them and collided with a wall of flickering light before them, with Ceal chuckling a bit in amusement. Sun and the two angels watched with wonder as the gunfire was blocked by some sort of barrier.

"What…happened?" Arial said looking to seeing that nobody got hit by the many bullets that were shot at them. The soldiers stopped firing and looked with surprise before a blast of red light shot by the group, the projectile striking through a soldier as a purplish blast of light shot by and took down another. Sun and the two angels looked to seeing three figures walking past them. Astreal had her arm extended out while Ruby had her wand held out, the two witches glancing to the other girls while Apoch held her barrier up before them still.

"Who are you girls?" Ruby asked.

"Who are we? Who are _you_?" Arial asked looking around.

"There's more of the intruders! Call for backup!" a soldier yelled out. Before the men could move a figure darted out from behind them around the corner. Render swung his straight edge blade and sliced a soldier diagonally through the chest then spun around and struck his angular blade through the chest of another soldier. As the boy whipped his blade up and out the side of the man's neck gun fire echoed out from around the corner and the third soldier was pelted back and dropped dead. Leon walked out from the corner with his gun held at the ready as Render whipped the blood off of his blades. The boys then looked down the hall as all eyes fell onto the three other monster girls.

"Who…who are all of you?" Complica asked looking around at them. Before anybody could say anything they all heard a loud whirring sound, the group then looking over to see an armored walker aiming it's mini-gun at them from down the hall where the three new girls had come from.

"What the hell is that?" Ruby said as Apoch turned to face them and held up her barrier, the wall of light forming as the large gun fired off it's rounds at them. The hallway lit up as streaks of light were seen flying at the group before sparking wildly on the barrier. Sun and the two angels looked around at everybody with wonder as Render and Leon ran towards the group. Ruby and Astreal took aim and fired their magical shots again, the projectiles flying down the hall and striking at the powered walker. The armored suit took the hits to the shoulder and arm, the metal scorching and tearing apart slightly as the soldier continued to fire.

"It's strong, that's what it is." Astreal said with worry. Apoch growled and formed her barrier sword, with the three new girls looking at it with wide eyes.

"Whoa…how did she do that?" Arial asked in amazement. Before the witch could move Kokoa ran over from behind the corner and swung her giant morning star down on the suit, the girl smashing it down into the ground and crushing in the gun. The vampire geared back and swung down again, the large spiked weapon slamming down onto the suit and crushing it into the ground. The vampire growled and lifted up her weapon then looked to the others as the armored suit sparked and smoked a bit in its new crater.

"Hey, you guys alright?" she asked. She blinked then looked at the new girls curiously as she walked closer.

"Who are they?" she asked. From behind her two more soldiers rounded the corner and aimed at her with their guns.

"Ms. Kokoa! Behind you!" Astreal said as she aimed her hand out and fired a shot. Kokoa looked back to seeing the attack flying by her and striking through the skull of one of the soldiers while another aimed at her. Suddenly a black chain whip flew out and grabbed onto the man, the soldier then being thrown over into a corner with a whack. Fire ignited along the links towards the man, the soldier then screaming as fire blasted around him wildly. He thrashed and screamed before dropping down while the chain link vanished. Razico walked out from the side hall and smirked at the young vampire.

"You missed two." He said with a chuckle. She scoffed at that and pointed to the smoldering wreckage that once was the armored walker.

"Hey, I just took out the big guy that was attacking everybody, I thought I could trust the smaller weaklings to you." She said arrogantly. The warlock shook his head amusingly then looked down the hall.

"You guys alright? Um, who are they?" he asked pointing to the new girls. The warlock and Kokoa walked over as Sun and the two angels looked around at everybody.

"What happened here?" Render asked looking around at the dead soldiers that were strewn about in the hallway.

"They were in my way." Ceal said simply. The group looked to him then to the new girls.

"Who…who are you guys?" Arial asked looking around. A loud wolf's howl was heard as the group looked down towards where Render and Leon came from. A soldier was running while firing backwards with his gun, the man screaming before a large werewolf darted over and swatted him into the wall with a powerful swipe. The wolf then sent a punch towards him that crushed the human into the wall, the beast then flinging the dead soldier down the other hall with a snarl. He looked around quickly then down the hallway towards the others.

"Hey, there you guys are. Why did you all run ahead like that?" he asked shaking his head. He blinked then looked at the girl that was staring at him with wide eyes. Sun slowly turned to face him as the wolf froze in place.

"S…Sun?" he asked in disbelief. The group looked to the siren who dropped the gun she was holding as she stared at the werewolf with wonder. Gin started walking towards the group as he shifted back into his human form, the boy looking at the siren with wonder.

"Sun? Is that you?" he asked softly. Kokoa looked at the siren curiously then to her boyfriend.

"You know her Gin?" she asked. Sun slowly took a step forward, then ran towards the boy with a bright smile. She leapt into a hug with him, the boy catching her with surprise as the group watched with wonder, well, except for Kokoa who was staring with shock. The siren held the boy tightly then pulled him into a kiss, something that caused him to look at her with wide eyes while Kokoa's jaw dropped. The group looked to her as her aura flared up and she growled furiously.

"What the hell is going on here?" Razico asked looking around at everybody.

Sun broke from the kiss and looked at the boy with loving eyes as he had a stunned expression on his face.

"Uh…Sun?" he asked shakily. The siren smiled at him before she was grabbed by the hair and thrown back into a tumble. She rolled to the ground then looked to see Kokoa swinging down at her with her giant morning star with a furious yell. The siren rolled to the side as the vampire slammed her weapon down into the ground, the redhead growling loudly as she yanked it up then swung it towards the siren again. Sun leapt back towards the others with a tumble as the large weapon crashed into the wall with a fierce impact. The siren stumbled back to her feet and looked over to seeing the vampire glaring at her with fury.

"What the hell bitch? Who do you think you are kissing my boyfriend like that?" she yelled out. Sun blinked and looked at her bewildered. She slowly looked to Gin with a raised eyebrow then back to Kokoa. The vampire growled loudly and glanced back to Gin who still had a stunned expression.

"What the hell was that about? Who is this bitch?" she yelled out.

"Who are all of you?" Ruby asked looking to the monster angels.

"Complica?" Gabriel cried out. The group looked back towards where Gin had come from to seeing the angel walking towards them. He was holding his rifle down to the side and staring at the two young angels with wide eyes. He blinked then looked to the snow angel.

"Arial?" he cried out. The group looked to the snow angel as she waved at Gabriel nervously.

"Um…hi Gabriel." she said weakly. The group looked at the snow angel with wide eyes as Gabriel walked up to them. He looked between the two and stammered something.

"That's…_that's_ Arial? _The_ Arial?" Kokoa said looking at the young angel.

"Oh my god…it's her." Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth, the witch stunned to see the famous snow girl that was responsible for Dark's freedom. The snow angel looked around at everybody as they were all staring at her with surprise.

"You know who I am?" she asked.

"Never mind that! What are you doing here Arial? And you Complica, why are you here also? You're supposed to be in heaven still!" Gabriel yelled out with frustration. Arial cringed a bit at that and looked at the angel worriedly as Complica stammered something while shaking her head.

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to find my sister and find Arial and I tried to save them but I was attacked by all these dark monsters and I ran and I ended up down here then I couldn't get back so I went looking for you and I thought I found you but it wasn't you and it was another monster and I found Arial and...I'm sorry!" the chronofly cried out.

"Holy crap…there wasn't a single comma in that entire sentence." Render said shaking his head.

"What…what's going on here?" Razico said looking between the two young angels. Kokoa looked at them with surprise then to Sun, the siren glancing to her cautiously.

"I can't believe this Complica, do you have any idea what you've done by coming here?" Gabriel yelled out. Ruby blinked then looked to the butterfly girl.

"Wait…Complica? Complica…Cii?" she asked with surprise. The butterfly girl looked at her curiously.

"You know my last name?" she asked. Ruby stared at the girl with amazement.

"You're…you're Luna and Falla's little sister." she said pointing to her. Ceal looked at the butterfly girl curiously at that remark as the group looked to her with wonder.

"Wait, the one that cast the Chrono Displacement spell and died?" Kokoa said looking to the young angel.

"She did what?" Razico said looking to Complica with surprise.

"Enough of all that!" Gabriel yelled out. He grabbed his hair in frustration then pointed to Complica.

"You are in serious trouble Complica, do you hear me?" he said sternly. The girl nodded nervously and gripped her bat worriedly in her hands. Gabriel shook his head then looked to Arial.

"And you…explain yourself! Why the hell did you go into that rift like that? What were you thinking?" he yelled out. The group looked to her as she showed a determined expression.

"Because that rift was my way back into this world, it was my only chance. I needed to come back to be with my husband!" she declared proudly. Gabriel growled and shook his head with frustration.

"Dark is _not_ your husband!" he yelled out. Arial growled loudly as her hair froze over, the group stepping back as the temperature dropped around her.

"Yes he is!" she yelled as her eyes flickered white a bit. Sun and Complica stepped back worriedly, the group noticing this then looking to the snow angel cautiously. Gabriel looked at the girl with caution and shook his head.

"Arial, stop this." he said.

"NO!" the girl yelled as she stomped her foot down, the ground below her freezing solid as ice spires shot up around her. The group jumped back as the girl screamed loudly.

"I'll never stop! I'll be with my husband again no matter what!" she yelled out.

"Oh no…Arial please…calm down." Complica said as she ran behind Razico and trembled a bit. The warlock looked back to her then to the raging snow angel.

"She really is obsessed with him?" Kokoa said with a bit of fear.

"Enough of this Arial. I'm taking you two back to heaven right now." Gabriel said sternly. Arial growled and shook her head.

"No no no NO! I'm not going anywhere without my Dark!" she yelled out. From down the hall three soldiers ran around the corner and looked with surprise at the sight.

"What the hell happened here?" one of them said seeing dead soldiers everywhere. They looked to the group then aimed their guns at them.

"It's the intruders! Kill them!" another yelled out. Arial screamed loudly as the corridor was blasted with cold air, the group stepping back from her as they shivered while the soldiers shielded their faces with their arms as snow flurries flew around wildly. The snow angel looked over to the soldiers then stomped her foot down furiously. Frozen ridges and cracks shot out erratically from her foot and raced towards the soldiers. The group looked over to seeing the intersection suddenly erupting with giant ice shards from the ground. One soldier was sliced into two as another was struck up through the leg and out his neck, the two remains of the men being shot up into the ceiling with a crash. The third soldier was struck through the legs and chest as the spires jettisoned up around him. The group watched as the intersection was demolished by the gigantic spires then looked to Arial as the snow girl yelled out with fury.

"Oh my god…" Ruby said with wide eyes.

"Did you see that? She…annihilated them all." Razico said with surprise.

"Don't make her angry Gabriel! I don't want to die and be gone forever!" Complica cried out from behind Razico, the girl shaking her head and holding onto the warlock's cape fearfully. Arial growled furiously and looked back to Gabriel, the angel looking at her with caution. Sun took Gin's arm and backed him up more, the boy looking to her with surprise then back to Arial. Kokoa glanced to them then backed away as the group did the same. Arial growled loudly as the ice started to build around the snow girl, the temperature dropping even more around her as a cold chill and snow flurries were flying around her in a torrent.

"Arial…stop this. This isn't a game, I need to get you back to heaven where you're safe." Gabriel said as he slowly shook his head.

"Never…I'll never stop…" Arial growled as ice spires slowly erupted from behind her. The group looked at the snow girl as the ground and ceiling above her froze over solid, the girl growling with rage and frustration.

"I'll never give up, I won't let anything keep me from my Dark!"


	4. Need A Hero

Underground inside the lowered holding atrium Moka and her group were looking around with worry. Yukari's wand and Rason's wings gave their only constant light source as the entire holding block had lost power after it was lowered underground. The other captive monsters had broken out of their cells and were running around in a riot, with many trying to break out through the lowered blast doors that were on the four corners of each of the atrium's floors. Streaks of light from fire and magical spells were seen faintly around as monsters were trying to break free from their darkened dungeon. A few winged monsters had flown up through a hole Kurumu had blasted through in the ceiling earlier, the succubus having used her full demonic blood to strike through the reinforced steel. She wasn't successful in breaking through the door as only more solid steel was behind it, and up through the roof of the holding block she saw only more sealed doors above them. The succubus wasn't able to continue her efforts to break free as she had to rest in order to calm her mind, as during that short time she used her full power her libido nearly got the better of her. She was in the arms of her angel as she tried to fight off her lust so she could try again to break her friends free from their prison, as with her demonic strength she might be their only way out of that place.

As the girl tried to calm her emotions and her sexual appetite her angel was holding her gently, the boy looking around with concern as darkness surrounded them all. The bond flowing between them was helping calm them down, the girl more so as she tried to focus on her goal of breaking through the large steel gates above their prison rather than strip her angel down and have her way with him, however the angel was worried if they would be able to escape from this place at all.

Near them Mizore was looking around while holding her stolen rifle, the snow girl staying close to her fiancé as the demon was looking around with a cautious eye. Being in the dark didn't bother him, if anything he felt rather comfortable in total darkness. What did bother him was that his fiancée and his friends were trapped underground with an army of humans above that wanted them executed for crimes they didn't commit. Mizore also wasn't finding this to be a very comfortable situation, even though she was engaged to a shadow demon and had grown to love the dark, and was trying to think of any other way they could escape without having to rely on Kurumu's demonic strength.

Yukari was holding her wand up as she looked around worriedly, the young witch trying to think of any way the group could escape from this underground prison. Her magic was useless to break through the reinforced blast doors surrounding their floor, not that it would have mattered as there was nothing but steel and earth behind those doors. Ahakon was also looking around while trying to brainstorm of any possible escape for the group, the young mage coming up with nothing as they seemed to be completely buried underground. He could only see Kurumu breaking through the surrounding walls, although how long it would take her to do so was still a mystery.

Next to them Moka was holding Ran as the siren was trembling with fear. She had only recently been freed from the dark world where her sisters and she were kept in for so long, and being trapped underground while in total darkness was causing the siren to have a small freak out. She was trying to remain calm, as her hero was doing, but was still finding herself scared out of her mind and wishing to be anywhere else but trapped in the darkness once again. Moka was looking around with a worried expression, the vampire also trying to remain calm about their current situation. She was growing fearful that unless Kurumu could gather her focus to break through the prison walls the group might not be able to escape. Even her inner self was becoming both frustrated and concerned that they may never see Tsukune again, with both sides of the vampire desperately trying to think of any way to once again see their mate.

"Get me out of here, please please please. I hate the dark, I hate it I hate I hate it." Ran pleaded quickly as she looked around.

"It's going to be alright Ran, calm down. We'll find a way out of here." Moka said gently as she held the trembling siren.

"There has to be some way out of this place." Rason said looking around. Kurumu looked up towards where the hole she blasted into the ceiling was barely visible by the faint sources of light around the area.

"Maybe…but who knows how much is blocking the way up there. There's no telling how far we are underground." she said worriedly. Ran screamed and held onto Moka tightly as the group looked to her.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE!" she cried out as she buried her face into Moka's shoulder.

"Ran, it'll be alright. I mean it, we'll be just fine." Moka said worriedly. Ran cried out as she shook her head, the siren holding onto Moka tightly as the vampire tried to pull her off.

"She's really scared of the dark." Ahakon said softly. Yukari nodded with a worried expression as she watched Ran hold onto Moka for dear life.

"She and her sisters were inside that dark world for so long, I can't blame her." Kurumu said watching the siren tremble while Moka looked at her with concern.

"There's nothing wrong with being in the dark Ran, I think it's quite relaxing actually." Mizore said softly.

"That's easy for you to say! You're engaged to a shadow demon!" Ran cried out. Mizore nodded then looked down with a soft smile.

"Yeah." She said glancing to Dark with a dreamy smile.

"Please Ran, it's going to be ok. Calm down." Moka pleaded as she tried to pull the siren off of her.

"I can't calm down! I can't stand the darkness, get me out get me out get me out!" Ran cried out as she held on tightly, the girl then burying her face into Moka's chest.

"Get a hold of yourself Ran, it's going to be alright. Hey, c'mon, let me go." Moka pleaded as she tried to pry the siren off of her still.

"It's not alright, we're trapped underground and it's dark and we can't get out! I just want to get out!" Ran cried out from inside Moka's chest, the vampire trying to push the girl off while the group just watched the siren freak out.

"Ran, calm down. We'll be alright." Ahakon said gently. Ran trembled a bit and glanced to him. The mage smiled and nodded.

"We've been through stuff like this before, compared to Alucard a little darkness isn't so bad." he said with a smirk. The siren shakily glanced around then back to him.

"He's right, we'll get out of here yet. We won't let you stay trapped down here in the dark." Kurumu said with a gentle smile. Ran trembled and looked around while whimpering.

"Just relax Ran, I promise you'll be fine." Ahakon said genuinely. The siren slowly let go of the vampire and looked at the young mage with worried eyes.

"R…really?" she said shakily. He nodded and looked around at the dark atrium.

"Really. There's no way a little dark is going to-" he started before he was tackled to the ground by the siren, the boy's world going dark as his face was engulfed in the siren's bosom.

"You're so brave Ahakon! You really are my hero, I don't know what I'd do without you!" she cried out as a few tears were forming, the girl hugging the mage on the ground as his arms and legs were flailing about under her. The group just looked down at her as Yukari growled with rage. Kurumu watched the siren suffocate the boy with her breasts then looked to Rason.

"I'm so sorry. Really, I'm so sorry!" she cried out as she hugged boy with fright, the angel thrashing around as his face was also shoved someplace soft and oxygen free.

"I never knew I was doing that to you all this time, oh my poor Rason, why didn't you ever tell me I was causing you such pain? I'm so sorry, please forgive me! I'll do anything you want to make up for this, anything!" she cried out.

"You can start by letting him go." Dark said flatly. Kurumu blinked and looked down, then jumped with a scream as Rason was let go and dropped down to the ground gasping for air.

"Rason! I'm so sorry, Rason!" Kurumu cried out as she knelt down and held the dazed boy, the girl then shaking him a bit as his world was spinning slightly.

"Maybe he was safer with Luna." Mizore said with a raised eyebrow.

BANG!

The group looked over to see Ran dropping to the ground next to Ahakon after a golden washtub clonked her on the head. The young mage gasped for air as Yukari growled with fury at the dazed siren.

"Get off him!" she yelled out. Ran groaned a bit and slowly started to get up before another washtub clonked her on the head and knocked her down.

"Yukari stop!" Moka cried out.

"Stop doing that Ran! Just because he's your hero doesn't mean you can hold onto him like that!" Yukari shouted out as another washtub dropped down and clonked the siren on the head, the girl dropping to the ground again in a daze. Ahakon shook his head a bit and looked over to see Ran holding her head with a strained expression as she tried to get up again.

"Ran, are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

BANG!

The siren dropped back down to the ground as another washtub hit her on the head.

"Yukari stop that!" Moka cried out.

"Ease up Yukari, she gets the message already." Kurumu said worriedly as she helped Rason stand again.

BANG!

The group watched as another washtub fell onto the siren's head, the girl crying out as she held her head while on the ground in pain.

"I told you not to do that again, and you just don't listen! He's mine Ran, he's my boyfriend! How dare you suffocate him like that other milk cow!" Yukari shouted out with anger.

"Hey, watch it pipsqueak!" Kurumu yelled out.

BANG!

Ran jerked about as another washtub hit her on the head, the group looking to her then to Yukari as the witch was growling with anger still.

"Hey, why are you hitting her still? I called you the name, not her." Kurumu said confused.

"Yukari stop, you're hurting her." Ahakon said as he watched the siren groan on the ground while holding her head.

"You just keep following him, you just keep hounding him, and now you're throwing yourself at him whenever you can! Why won't you just learn already that he's my boyfriend?" Yukari yelled out.

"Yukari stop it, she's had enough." Ahakon said shaking his head. He helped the siren slowly get up, the girl's world spinning as her mind tried to focus. She heard a ringing in her ears as everything was spinning around her in a blur.

"Ran? Ran are you alright?" Kurumu said kneeling down and helping the siren sit up.

"Yukari that's enough, she was just scared of being down here in the darkness, you didn't have to go overboard like that." Moka said with discontent at Yukari. The witch looked at the siren with frustration and shook her head.

"She never gets the hint, he's my boyfriend! She keeps crossing the line and she needs to learn her place!" Yukari yelled as she held up her wand again.

"Enough!" Dark called out. The witch looked to him as he had his eyes narrowed. The demon shook his head while Mizore was looking at the witch with discontent.

"You've done enough to her already Yukari, you're done." Dark said sternly.

"But Dark, she-" Yukari said before Ahakon looked to her with disbelief.

"How could you do that to her? She's just sacred Yukari, you know that!" he yelled out. The witch looked at him with worry as the mage and succubus slowly helped the siren stand again.

"Ran? Are you ok?" Kurumu said as she looked at the siren worriedly. The girl's eyes weren't focusing as she wavered a bit. She trembled a bit then dropped, the succubus and mage catching her as her head hung down.

"Ran!" Moka said running over to her.

"Dammit Yukari, how could you do that to her?" Rason said looking at the witch with discontent. The witch looked around at the group worriedly as Rason shook his head.

"She just wanted to be near her hero, and for that you give her a concussion." he said with disappointment.

"But she suffocated him just like Kurumu always does to you!" Yukari cried out.

"She may have gone a bit overboard with her affection, but she wasn't trying to do anything mean, she just wanted comfort from her hero." Mizore said shaking her head.

"Yukari I think you really hurt her." Kurumu said as the siren remained limp in her arms.

"Oh no, Ran? Ran wake up!" Moka said shaking her. Ahakon looked at the siren with disbelief then Yukari with frustration.

"Why did you do that to her Yukari? Why? She was just frightened of being in the dark!" he cried out.

"But she was smoothing you in her chest, she keeps sticking to you everywhere you go!" Yukari said with worried eyes.

"You seriously hurt her Yukari. She's not waking up." Kurumu said shaking the siren.

"You never hit Kurumu that much ever at one time, you might have given her brain damage." Rason said looking to the witch.

"Ran? Wake up, hey!" Kurumu said shaking the siren. Ahakon looked back to the unconscious girl with worry then to Yukari.

"Yukari…" he said with anger as he walked up to her. The witch looked at him with worried eyes, the girl never having seen him angry with him before.

"Ahakon…I…" she said nervously.

"Never again." he said sternly. She looked at him worriedly as he shook his head.

"You hear me? Never hit her like that again." he said sternly.

"But Ahakon, she-" the witch started before the boy grabbed her hand with her wand, the girl backing up a bit with worry.

"I said, never again!" he yelled out. The girl looked at him with wide eyes as the group looked over to her. Not once had the mage ever yelled at her like that, the witch feeling her heart stop briefly as she looked at him with sorrow and fear. She slowly nodded and whimpered a bit as the mage just looked into her eyes with discontent. He let the girl's hand go then walked back over to the group as Kurumu and Moka tried to wake the sleeping siren.

"I'm…sorry…" Yukari said softly.

"Don't tell me, tell her when she wakes up." Ahakon said glancing back to the witch. The girl nodded slowly and looked down with tears forming.

"She's out cold." Mizore said as Kurumu tried shaking Ran again. Moka and Kurumu lowered Ran down onto her knees and rear as Ahakon held his hands to her head, the boy using his magic to try to relieve her pain. A soft white glow formed around his hands as the group watched with concern. Yukari sniffled a bit then walked over to them, the witch holding her wand to the siren and using her magic to help.

"How could you do that Yukari? She was just scared of being trapped in the darkness again." Ahakon said with concern.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. She keeps chasing you around everywhere and throwing herself at you, I mean she had your face lodged between her breasts, how could I not get mad?" Yukari said with worry. Ahakon sighed as the group watched them curiously.

"You know nothing will ever take me away from you Yukari, right? You know I love you and only you." he said softly. The witch nodded slowly and looked down with remorse.

"I know, I just couldn't help it. Seeing her do those things to you got me so mad." she said softly.

"She may have crossed a line during her panic, but what you did was still overkill." Rason said shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I really am, I didn't mean to hurt her so much. I just wanted her to stop getting so close to you Ahakon." Yukari said worriedly. Ahakon shook his head a bit and looked at his girlfriend.

"I love you Yukari." he said softly. The witch looked to him as Ran remained quiet and motionless.

"Nothing will ever change that. Ran could throw herself at me all she wants and I still wouldn't choose her over you." the boy said softly. Yukari looked at him with wonder as the group watched the two while the glow of their light illuminated the area around them.

"Ahakon…" Yukari said softly.

"She's been alone for so long in the darkness, she's always wanted a hero to believe in like the ones she's read about in her stories. I know how she feels about me, but I don't think it's real love she feels Yukari. It's just…" Ahakon said before looking down a bit.

"Admiration." Dark said. The group looked to him as he watched the siren with a blank expression.

"She's had her nose in her books for so long, she's always wanted to meet a real hero like the ones she's read about. And then she did, she saw Ahakon. She looks up to him Yukari, that's something that can't be told is wrong. In her eyes Ahakon will always be her hero, a source of comfort and hope for her to hold onto. That's something she must have desperately wanted while in the darkness, a real hero to have in her life." he said simply. Yukari looked at the siren worriedly then down as she kept her wand held out over the unconscious girl's head.

"If she really wanted him Yukari, she could have charmed him away. She could have taken him away from you by now if she really wanted, but she hasn't. She's accepted being just friends with him, and even offered to help you cook better for him." Moka said looking at the witch.

"Ran." the young witch said softly as she looked back up at the siren. She sniffled a bit and looked down with closed eyes.

"I'm sorry Ran, I really am." she said softly.

"Don't do that again to her Yukari, after all she's been through she certainly doesn't deserve something like that again." Ahakon said. Yukari nodded and looked at the siren with worried eyes.

"Ok, I promise." she said softly. Moka and Kurumu continued to hold the sleeping girl up as Ahakon and Yukari worked to heal her head and relieve the pain from the girl. The others watched as the prisoners of the holding block continued their futile efforts to break through the sealed doors of the atrium. As the group waited for their unconscious friend to be healed and wake up again the siren's fingers twitched slightly, the girl reacting a bit to her dream.

* * *

_Deep in a forest two young girls were flying through the wooded area under the bright blue sky, their feathered wings flapping as they weaved around the trees playfully. They were young girls looking to be around Yukari's age. Ran was flying around with her short hair flowing in the wind, the girl having her single colored blue dress and glasses on while Ren was flying next to her, the young siren having her single colored pink dress on along with her unique hat that somehow stayed on her head. The two girls laughed and flew around through the forest as the sunlight from above shone down through some parts._

_The girls flew through the trees then came to a large clearing in the forest. It was a large area that had a few gigantic trees shooting up into the sky above the surrounding forest. Around the trunks of the trees were wooden houses built into the sides, with the buildings having windows and doors that led into the open air. They were made of wooden walls that were well polished and smoothed while the roofs were comprised of wooden shingles that were slanted down. Along the grounds below were several dirt paths and houses along with small fire pits that had blue flames in them. Other winged sirens were seen flying around the village as sunlight shone down from above. The two sisters flew up towards their home, the girls circling around the large tree before landing down inside their front foyer._

_"Father, we're home." Ran called out as the two sirens ran into the living room. Inside they saw their father reading a book while sitting in his chair, the man looking up to his daughters with a calm smile._

_"Welcome back girls, did you have fun out in the forest?" he asked._

_"It was alright." Ren said with a shrug._

_"You had fun just like me, admit it." Ran said nudging her sister. Ren rolled her eyes then looked over towards the table where her other sister was sitting. Rin was bobbing her head a bit as she listened to her music, the siren wearing her enchanted headphones that were plugged into a small disc player. The girl was wearing her single colored yellow dress and white shoes while she was humming a tune. She glanced over then smiled at her sisters._

_"Hey, you're back." She said._

_"You're still listening to those music cd's?" Ren asked walking over to her. Rin nodded and looked down at the table. There were dozens of cd's lying on the table along with a book about human musicians._

_"Of course, father got so many from that human village near our forest. I want to listen to them all." She said with a bright smile. Ren and Ran smiled softly at their sister, both glad she had her memory back again. She had to wear her headphones wherever she went, whether they were plugged into anything or not, as they were the only thing keeping her mind working under her own spell. Since she had to wear them all the time now the siren was getting into the habit of always listening to music, the girl using her portable cd player wherever she went while enjoying the music._

_"We should get you one of those human things…um, I think they're called 'mp3 players'. You can store a whole bunch of songs on it and it's much smaller in size." Ran said with a smile._

_"I think you need a computer for that." Ren said dully._

_"I was just saying, it could be something to look into for her. It would be easier to carry around all the time." Ran said defensively. The father chuckled and looked back to his book._

_"I guess we can look into that, I hear humans have countless songs available on their modern devices now." He said simply._

_Ren walked over and looked at all the cd's of music that were on the table._

_"How many of these have you listened to?" she asked curiously._

_"Only about six, there's just so many. The humans have so many types of music, it's awesome." Rin said as she opened her cd player and popped in another disc. Ren looked at the cd curiously then watched as her sister was looking through the book to find the artist she was listening to._

_"Geez, as if you weren't already overly obsessed with music." Ren said flatly as she shook her head. She sighed and smiled a bit._

_"Still, I'm glad you're back to your normal self again." she said softly. Rin glanced to her then looked at the girl curiously._

_"What? Did you say something?" she asked. Ren blinked then rolled her eyes._

_"Yep, just as difficult to talk to as before." she said walking back towards Ran and her father. The man chuckled and watched his daughter enjoying the music from the human world. The family and village were thankful the girl was able to be cured somewhat by the chronoflies, even though only he himself knew what race did the miracle for his daughter. Everybody, including his wife, had asked who it was that saved the young siren's mind, but the man couldn't tell them as he was sworn to secrecy. After all the chronoflies did for his daughter, he wouldn't go back on his word._

_"Ran? Ren? Is that you?" the mother said walking into the living room. She smiled at her daughters as the two girls ran over to them. She held them with a hug and smiled down at them._

_"I'm glad you're back, did you have fun flying around the forest?" she asked._

_"Yeah, it was a beautiful day out today." Ran said._

_"It was alright." Ren said with a shrug._

_"Why are you always so negative?" Ran asked her sister with a dull glance._

_"Hey, I'm not saying I didn't have fun." Ren said looking away with a scoff. The mother laughed a bit and smiled at her daughters._

_"Well glad to hear it. Say, could you two do me a favor? We're a bit low on vegetables for dinner tonight, could you two run to the market nearby and bring back some more?" she asked kindly._

_"Sure mother." Ran said with a smile._

_"I guess we could." Ren said glancing away._

_"Thank you both. Here's some money, just pick up some lettuce and carrots for me." the mother said handing the two girls some money. Ran took the money and hugged her mother while Ren glanced to Rin._

_"Hey Rin, you coming?" she asked. The blonde haired siren continued bobbing her head a bit as she listened to her music, the girl turning the page in her book as she hummed a bit to herself._

_"Just let her enjoy her music dear, she can stay here." the father said looking to his happy daughter._

_"Why is it she gets to listen to music and we have to go run errands?" Ren muttered walking towards the front door._

_"Again, always so negative. She's happy again, don't take that away from her." Ran said simply. Ren sighed and nodded, then the two girls flew out towards the village below. The mother watched them go then walked over towards Rin._

_"It's just so incredible, our daughter really is back with us." She said gratefully. She walked behind the girl and hugged her, the blonde haired siren looking back to her with a bit of a laugh._

_"Mother? What is it?" she said with a smile._

_"Nothing dear, I'm just thankful you're still you." The woman said gently._

_"What?" Rin asked tilting her head as she kept listening to her music. The woman smiled and shook her head, then kissed the young siren on the forehead. The girl giggled then went back to reading the book while the mother walked over towards the father._

_"You really can't tell me who did it? I'm just dying to know who saved our daughter." She asked curiously. The man chuckled and shook his head._

_"Sorry dear, but I'm not going to go against my word with them. Let's just be thankful somebody out there was able to save our daughter's mind." He said looking at the woman. She smiled and nodded then looked back to Rin._

_"I suppose, still, I wish I knew who performed the miracle. It would be nice to know who to thank in my prayers." she said gently._

_Rin giggled and ejected the disc out of her player, the siren then looking back to her parents with a smile._

_"These are incredible, I never knew the humans had so many different kinds of songs. Hey, where did Ran and Ren go?" she asked looking around._

_"They ran to the market for me really quick, they'll be back soon." the mother said with a kind smile._

_"What kind of music have you been listening to dear?" the father asked with a curious smile._

_"It's something called 'pop', I'm not sure why it's called that but the humans singing it sure are lively. So energetic and bouncy, I love it." Rin said looking back to the book she had on the table._

_"There's so many different types of them out there, it's amazing." she said with a bright smile._

_"Dear, maybe you should take a break. You've been inside all day listening to your music, why don't you go outside and get some fresh air?" the mother asked gently. Rin shook her head as she started sifting through the other music cd's on the table._

_"No way, I never want to stop listening to this stuff. Can't I listen to a bit more before they get back? Please?" she said looking back to her parents with a hopeful smile._

_"Well…I guess so." the mother said with a nod._

_"Let her listen to her music dear, look how happy she is." the father said watching the young siren looking through her music collection with a bright smile._

_"I suppose you're right. That's our Rin, always so curious about music." the woman said with a small laugh._

_Rin looked through the discs with a curious smile, the young siren eager to listen to every kind of sound out there. She only had a few discs before from a nearby human village that her father had gotten for her, but now that she was wearing her headphones on all the time she wanted to hear music wherever she went, and was eager to listen to every kind of music she could now. She looked through the collection with a curious eye, the girl not familiar with the different types of music from the human world. There was classical music, country, jazz, j-pop, and…_

_"Wow, what's this?" Rin said looking at a disc case curiously. She looked at the rather unique cover art and opened the case to see the disc that had red and black letters written on it. She smiled and put the disc in her player then flipped the pages in her book to find out more about the genre called 'heavy metal'._

_Outside in the village Ran and Ren were walking around the marketplace. A few other sirens were flying around as others were walking around the open market area. The two young girls walked up to a vegetable stand and looked at the carrots that were available._

_"Here we go, these look good." Ran said looking at the vegetables._

_"They look a bit stale." Ren said simply. Ran sighed and glanced to her._

_"Can't you for once be positive for a change?" she asked. Ren nodded then looked to her._

_"Ok, I'm positive they look stale." she said simply._

_"Why are you always so negative about everything? Can't you just enjoy life for how it is?" Ran asked handing some money to the owner and taking a small basket of carrots._

_"I'm not negative, I just see the world for how it really is. It just so happens that life is usually a letdown anyway." Ren said with a shrug._

_"You're never going to find a boyfriend with that attitude." Ran said flatly._

_"I'll have a better shot than you, at least I'll be looking at boys my own age." Ren said with a dull expression at her sister. Ran twitched at that then shook her head nervously._

_"What are you talking about? Where did that come from?" she asked franticly._

_"Just what I said, you're always-" Ren started before looking up. The sky above started to get cloudy and dark as the wind began to pick up._

_"Odd, what happened to the sunny day we were having?" the store owner said as he scratched his head. Other sirens were looking around as lightning and thunder echoed out above. The wind started to pick up as rain fell around the area. Ren sighed and looked to her sister while pointing up._

_"See? Always a letdown." she said flatly._

_"C'mon, we better get back before-" Ran started before a giant blast of lightning struck down into one of the large trees, the bolt blasting the tree and several houses that were built into it into a firestorm. Screams were heard as large chunks of bark and charred wood dropped to the ground around the area. Ran and Ren looked with wide eyes then over to see a massive wall of fire seeming to flare up behind several other large trees, the wall of flame scorching and engulfing the area slightly as the wind started to pick up fiercely._

_"What's going on?" Ren said shielding her eyes from the flying wind and rain._

_A loud crashing sound was heard as they looked over and saw a giant tree crashing down through the village, the fallen tree being on fire while several houses on it were falling apart as it crashed into another giant tree. The two crumbled and crashed down violently as screams of panic were heard only slightly above the raging wind._

_"C'mon, we need to get home now!" Ran cried out, the girl dropping the basket of carrots and grabbing her sister's hand. The two took off into the air as the wind howled and rain flew by wildly. The two girls saw another large tree crashing down through their village, the trunk having several homes of sirens attached to it slamming down onto the ground kicking up dust and debris that flew around wildly. Other large trees were on fire and falling apart while lightning continued to strike around the area constantly, the bolts causing fiery explosions around the village._

_"What's happening?" Ren cried out with fright._

_"What kind of storm is this?" Ran yelled out looking around at the chaos in their village. Other sirens were flying around franticly as more of the area was falling apart into a blazing inferno. The two girls weaved around a large tree that had streaks of fire flaring around its trunk, then stared with wide eyes._

_"NO!" Ren cried out as they saw their home and tree burning brightly. Other houses built into the trunk crumbled and fell to the ground as their own home started to collapse into itself._

_"No! Mother! Father! Rin!" Ran shrieked as the two girls flew towards it. Before they could get close the burning residence seemed to violently explode as a sonic boom blasted out, the house and most of the tree next to it being annihilated and thrown about into pieces. The two sirens gasped and watched as the large tree crackled then started to fall over._

_"No…NO!" Ran cried out as the large tree crashed into another, the flames catching onto the new tree as they started to crack and shatter apart. The other tree groaned loudly and caved in as the other burning tree collapsed down to the ground, the standing one then crackling and falling off to the side with a thunderous crash._

_"NO!" Ren cried out as the two girls floated in place, the girls staring at their fallen home with horror. A lightning bolt struck down from the sky towards the remains of their old home's tree. The bolt struck into the wood and it blasted apart from top to bottom as flaming chunks of wood were thrown everywhere. Ran gripped her hair and screamed while Ren started to cry, the girl's eyes locked onto their fallen home._

_"This isn't happening…this isn't happening!" Ren cried out with agony. The wind started pick up furiously, the two girls looking over to seeing a large tornado running through the area. Large trees were torn apart while others were stripped clean of their bark and siren houses. The spiraling wind came closer as the girls watched with fright. Ran screamed and grabbed Ren's hand, the siren then flying down and away from the tornado. The two girls flew as fast as they could as broken debris and bark were flying around with the rain. Other sirens were flying around in a panic as lightning continued to strike down wildly at the ravaged area._

_"We need to get out of here!" Ran cried out as she looked around franticly._

_"No! Mother! Father! Rin! This is a bad dream! This is just a bad dream!" Ren cried out shaking her head._

_Suddenly a bolt of lightning blasted down through the large tree next to them, the trunk then exploding into charred bark as houses were thrown around in the air. The two girls screamed as they were thrown off into a tumble before a large chunk of smoking wood smacked into them. Ran spiraled around holding Ren in her arms, the two girls flying down and tumbling into fallen braches and leaves. They rolled through the foliage and crashed against a fallen tree, with Ran groaning in pain while Ren was out cold. The blue haired siren shakily looked up and watched with terror as the storm intensified. Their village was in a state of chaos with many of the large trees they used for homes burning wildly or falling to the ground. The wind was howling wildly as rain and ash were thrown around through the air. Other sirens were flying around in a panic or being crushed by falling debris while thunder roared out above them. Ran looked around with fright then up as she heard a tree crackling and falling. She saw a large trunk of a tree crashing down from the side along with a few burning homes attached to it. The girl screamed and ducked down onto Ren as the roaring of the falling tree echoed out above them, the siren ducking down and trembling with fear as the area around them shook wildly. The large tree from above crashed down onto the one the girls ran into at an angle, the burning trunk then cracking apart and falling off to the side with a powerful crash. The branches of giant leaves and bark smashed into the ground as fire and ash flew about wildly. Dust and debris shot around the area as Ran held onto her sister while screaming out of fright. She paused then looked around to seeing they were both still alive._

_"Oh my god, Ren? Ren wake up! Ren!" she cried out as she tried shaking her sister. Ren groaned as she lay on the ground, the girl remaining still as the howling wind roared above them. Ran lifted the girl up and over her shoulder with her arm, then tried moving forward between the large tree trunks as screams and crashes were heard all around them._

_"This isn't happening…this isn't happening…this isn't happening…" Ran said shakily to herself. She looked up between the two fallen tree trunks at the sky above. Streak of lightning were flying by while burning leaves and ash were being carried around wildly. Ash and water got onto her glasses obscuring her view as tears formed in her eyes._

_"It's like a nightmare…just let me wake up!" Ran cried out._

_Suddenly a large sonic boom blasted out nearby with a high pitched shriek. The charred tree next to Ran and Ren blasted apart as ash and bark flew around. The sirens were thrown back against the other large tree and slumped down, with Ren dropping to the ground while Ran coughed and tried to wave the flying dust away from her. She coughed and looked around as her glasses were coated with ash, the girl only seeing rain and debris flying around wildly. She only heard a ringing sound in her ears as her vision was blurred._

_"What…what's doing this?" she said as she dropped to her knees, the girl feeling lightheaded as she couldn't breathe. She waved the dust away from her face before dropping onto her hands and knees, the girl coughing as the wind blew the ash around wildly. The rain fell heavily from the sky and drenched the ground around the girls as Ran tried to breathe. She shakily crawled back towards her sister before dropping down next to her, the girls being covered in burnt leaves and mud as screams echoed out nearby._

_"Ren…wake up…we…need to get…out of here." she said as her vision started getting dark. She slowly looked back to seeing a blast of lightning striking down through a large tree, the trunk and houses built around it bursting into flames as burning branches fell from above and crashed into the ground. Another high pitched shriek echoed out before another large tree was blasted into pieces, with the large chunks of the tree being thrown off into the storm as a burst of wind flew by wildly._

_"What's…doing this?" Ran said she struggled to focus her vision. She took her glasses off and tried to wipe off the ash from them, the girl shakily looking up to seeing a figure flying in the sky near them. It was a winged figure obscured by the rain and flying debris, the shadowy figure floating in place as lightning shot down around the area._

_"What…is that?" Ran said as she shakily put her glasses back on. Before she could see anything a wave of fire erupted around the shadowy figure and flew around in a torrent, the blaze shooting off around wildly and catching fire to surrounding trees and debris. A red glow erupted around the area as Ran watched with weary eyes, the girl trying to make out the shadowy figure._

_She saw feathered wings flapping behind it._

_"You…you did this…" she said as she started blacking out._

_Long hair that was lit up with a red glow from the surrounding fires._

_"You…killed my family…" she said as she started to slowly drop._

_A dress that had an orange hue on it from the light around the area._

_"You…monster…" she said as she passed out, the girl falling next to her sister as the area was ravaged by the brutal storm. The winged figure let out a high pitched shriek, the monster sending out a shockwave that annihilated the surrounding areas and blasted debris around wildly. A chunk of a broken tree flew over and crashed against the large tree the girls were next to, the debris then covering them from the onslaught that continued around their ruined village._

_Ran slowly opened her eyes, the girl's senses coming back to her as she started to move slightly. All was quiet around her as a gray haze was seen out through the cracks of the charred piece of tree that was leaning over them. The siren slowly sat up and coughed a bit then looked down to Ren. She shook her by the shoulder as she blinked a few times._

_"Ren?" she asked softly. The pink haired siren groaned and slowly opened her eyes._

_"Wha…what happened? Ran?" she said as she slowly looked up to her sister. Ran smiled a bit with relief then looked around._

_"We're alive." she said softly. Ren slowly sat up while Ran pushed against the broken tree that was leaning over them as debris was around both other sides of the girls. She pushed hard as the wood started to crack and splinter, the girl trying to move the debris as Ren coughed a bit. The younger siren then started to help and they both pushed against the charred wood. After a moment it creaked and then cracked apart, the two girls falling through and out the other side as the wood shattered apart. They tumbled to the ground and coughed a bit as ash flew around gently, the girls then sitting up slowly and looking around with wide eyes._

_"Oh…my…god…" Ran said with wide eyes._

_"Our village." Ren said as her eyes started to water. The two girls slowly stood up and looked around at what was left of their peaceful village. All around was a grayish fog of ash and dust with sunlight barely coming through. The large trees that were once used as their homes were lying around smoldering and torn apart. A few trees were still standing with siren houses falling apart or completely destroyed. Other sirens were walking around trying to find other survivors while a few were flying around quickly. A few fires were still going around the rubble and debris on the ground while shouting was heard in the distance._

_"It's…all gone." Ran said with disbelief. She choked back her sob and looked down as Ren trembled._

_"Mother…father…Rin…" she said before she buried her face in her hands, the girl crying as Ran started to as well. A few other sirens looked over to the crying girls then rushed towards them with worry._

_"Hey, we've got a few more over here." one of them called out as they gathered around the girls. Two older siren women walked up and held the girls as they cried._

_"Thank the lords you're both alright." one of the women said._

_"It's a miracle they survived that." the other woman said worriedly._

_"Are you two ok? Where are your parents?" an older siren man asked as he walked up to them. The girls cried loudly as the crowd looked at them with remorse._

_"They…they…" Ren sobbed._

_"Oh dear." the woman holding her said with worry._

_"Our home…it was destroyed. Our parents…they…they were inside of it when…it blew apart." Ran said looking up to the woman holding her with teary eyes. The siren woman nodded slowly and looked around._

_"Maybe they got out in time dear. Come, let's get you over to where the other survivors are. Maybe your parents are there right now." she said worriedly. The sirens led the two girls off away from the ruined area, the two young girls crying loudly the entire way._

_At the edge of what was once their village a large gathering of sirens were seen with a few tents put up near the smaller trees of the surrounding forest, the survivors of the storm having gathered in a clearing away from their destroyed home. Ran and Ren looked around to seeing sirens being treated with wounds while lying on the ground, with some of them having their legs, arms, or wings bloodied while they were screaming in pain. Other sirens were flying around calling out to others while some were gathered together while around small campfires. Some were crying out of agony or sorrow while others were looking down at the ground while sitting together, either in mourning of losing their loved ones or in disbelief and sorrow about what horror had befallen their home._

_"What happened to our home?" Ren said fearfully._

_"Mother? Father? Rin?" Ran called out. The two girls ran off into the crowd as the group that came with them watched with worry._

_"Please let their family be safe." a woman said softly._

_The two girls ran around the gathering of their fellow villagers. They saw friends and neighbors, some injured and some grieving over their losses. They saw many fellow sirens as they were all coping with the destruction of their village however they didn't see the ones they were looking for._

_"No…they're…they're not here." Ren said looking to her sister with frightful eyes. Ran shook her head and called out again._

_"Mother! Father! Rin! Please, answer me!" she yelled out. She looked around and started breathing heavily._

_"They didn't get out…they didn't get out in time." Ren said as she started crying. Ran held back her tears the best she could and gripped her hair. The image of their home blasting apart violently flashed before her eyes, the siren feeling her heart stop for a moment before she started shaking in fear._

_"No…they had to have gotten out in time….they had to!" she cried out running into the crowd. Ren followed after as the two looked around franticly. They saw many sirens there that had escaped or were brought out of the ruined village, but not the ones they prayed to find._

_"No! They can't be gone! They can't be!" Ran cried out with tears falling from her cheeks. She looked around then spotted somebody, the girl running over to seeing Rin lying on a blanket near a tree. A few other sirens were watching over her as Ran and Ren raced over to her._

_"Sister!" Ren cried out._

_"Rin? Are you ok? Rin?" Ran cried out as she knelt down next to her unconscious sister. The girl was lying peacefully on the blanket, her dress muddied and torn while her hair was dirty as well. Her headphones were still on her head, although having ash and mud on them, however her cd player was gone as the cord for the headphones was lying at her side without being plugged into anything._

_"Is she ok?" Ren asked worriedly._

_"We think so. We found her unconscious a little while ago. She's a lucky girl, we found her lying right out in the open in the village, it's a miracle nothing fell on her." a male siren said while looking down at the sleeping girl. Aside from appearing dirty with ash and mud the girl seemed to be physically fine._

_"Rin…thank god you're alright." Ran said looking down at her sister with worry._

_"I remember that girl, she was the one that had those headphones enchanted for her, Otonashi correct?" a male siren asked curiously. Ran and Ren nodded and looked at him with remorse._

_"She's the one, my word. She really is lucky to be alive still and with those things still on her head." a woman said with relief._

_"You two must be her sisters, I'm glad to see you're still in one piece after all that." another woman said looking at the two girls. The group of sirens that escorted the two girls walked up to them as Ran and Ren looked back down to their sleeping sister, the two girls fighting back tears still._

_"Where are your parents?" the male siren that was sitting near Rin asked. Ran and Ren looked to each other then down._

_"They said their house was blown apart during the storm, we found them in the ruins of the village together. But…we didn't find anybody else with them." a woman said looking at the sisters with worry._

_"That wasn't a storm…" Ran said looking down with teary eyes._

_"What? What do you mean child?" a woman asked._

_"I mean that wasn't a storm, it was…it was a monster!" Ran cried out before she started sobbing. The crowd and Ren looked at her with wonder as the girl cried._

_"What do you mean it was a monster?" Ren asked worriedly._

_"I mean it was a monster that did this, I saw it!" Ran cried out._

_"What was that?" a male siren walking by asked._

_"A monster?" a woman asked as more sirens walked over towards the girls._

_"That storm did seem too suspicious, it came out of nowhere then just vanished." a man said looking up at the sky._

_"What did you see sister?" Ren asked._

_"I saw a monster with wings, I saw it destroy the village!" Ran cried out. The crowd started talking amongst each other with hushed tones as they looked at the young siren cautiously._

_"What? There was another monster in our village?" Ren asked worriedly._

_"Are you sure? What did this thing look like?" a woman asked. Ran shook her head and looked down._

_"I don't know exactly, I couldn't get a good look at it. It had wings…long hair…and it created bright fire all around it. It blasted apart the village with a horrible noise." Ran said looking down while holding herself worriedly._

_"You saw it do that?" Ren asked. Ran nodded and looked to her worriedly._

_"After you got knocked out…I saw it before I passed out. It was horrible, that thing was creating that storm. That monster did this!" she cried out. The crowd started talking to each other with worry as a few sirens looked at the young girl curiously. Ran cried out as she started sobbing, the crowd looking to her as the girl dropped to her knees._

_"That thing killed my parents!" she cried out. Ren started crying then and broke down, both girls crying as the crowd looked at them with sorrow._

_"It had to be a monster attack, that was no ordinary storm." a man said with a nod._

_"Who would do such a thing? And why, we've done nothing to warrant such an attack." a woman said looking around._

_"Young girl, are you sure of what you saw?" a man asked cautiously. Ran nodded while crying, the girl looking at the siren with teary eyes behind her glasses._

_"I know I saw it, that thing did all this. That monster killed my parents!" she cried out as she dropped to the ground sobbing._

_Rin stirred a bit and slowly opened her eyes, the girl blinking a few times before coughing a bit._

_"What…what happened?" she asked wearily. Ran and Ren looked to her then hurried over and held her as they were crying._

_"Sister!" Ren cried as she held the confused siren. Rin looked around worriedly then to the group of sirens watching them._

_"What's going on? Where…where are we?" she asked looking to her sisters. Ran looked at her with teary eyes and then hugged the girl, the blue haired siren crying out of sorrow while Rin looked around with worry. Ren held onto them as the crowd looked at the girls with sympathetic expressions._

_"Those poor girls…" a woman said._

_"Their father went to such lengths to have his daughter cured…and then she nearly dies in a monster attack. Thank the lords she's still alive." a man said as the blonde haired siren looked around then to her sisters, the girl confused as to what was going on and what had happened._

_"I don't get it…I was listening to music at home…and then…" Rin said looking around. Ran and Ren looked to her as they tried to hold back their tears._

_"Ran? Ren? What's going on? Where's…where's mother and father?" Rin asked looking around. She slowly stood up as Ran and Ren did, the blonde haired siren looking around at seeing everybody looking at her with remorse._

_"Where are they? Where…where are they?" she asked looking to Ren and Ran. The two girls sobbed and looked down with closed eyes. Rin looked at them with worry and started to get a very bad feeling._

_"What is this? What happened? Where are mom and dad?" she cried out._

_"Rin…" Ran said looking back up to her. Rin looked at her and shook her head._

_"What's going on? Mom? Dad? Where are you?" she cried out looking around, the siren growing fearful of what may have happened. She only saw remorseful expressions on everybody's faces as they looked at her along with her sisters. The girl looked around quickly then to Ren, then to Ran._

_"Tell me! Where are they?" she cried out. Ran and Ren broke down crying then hugged the girl again, the sisters crying as Rin started to as well._

_"Where are they? What…what happened?" she cried out as the crowd looked at them with remorse. The three girls cried out of sorrow as their fellow villagers looked down with closed eyes. Their home had been decimated by a strange monster of incredible power, with many dead and wounded from the sudden onslaught. Although the three sisters had survived the sudden destruction of their home, their parents did not._

_"What's going on? Please…tell me!" Rin cried out as she held her sisters, the three girls crying as word began to spread throughout the gathering, word that a monster was responsible for their home being destroyed._

* * *

"Mother…father…" Ran said quietly as she started to open her eyes, the girl still crying a bit as her senses came back to her. She was lying on the ground as Moka and the others were looking down at her with worry. Ahakon and Yukari were sitting next to her as the siren blinked a few times then slowly started to sit up.

"Ran? Are you ok?" Ahakon asked worriedly.

"I'm so sorry Ran. I didn't mean to attack you like that, please forgive me." Yukari said worriedly. Ran slowly sat up and wiped her tears away, the girl then looking around at the group curiously. Yukari's wand and Rason's wings were lighting up the surrounding area while the roars of monsters on the other floors of the atrium were heard echoing out still.

"What…what happened?" Ran asked sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Yukari happened. She sent several washtubs straight down onto your head." Kurumu said glaring over at the young witch. The girl jumped a bit and bowed nervously to Ran.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so carried away. Please, I promise I'll never do that to you again!" she pleaded franticly. Ran looked at her then up with wonder.

"Where…do you get those things from anyway?" she asked in disbelief.

"A very good question, but for now a better one is are you feeling ok?" Rason asked gently. Ran nodded slowly then looked around at the dark holding atrium.

"We're…still here." she said worriedly.

"Afraid so." Moka said softly. She then looked at the siren curiously.

"Ran?" she asked. The siren looked over to her as the vampire showed a concerned expression.

"You…kept calling out your parents in your sleep. Are you alright?" she asked. The siren looked at her for a moment then down with a saddened expression, the girl nodding slowly.

"I just…remembered the day they died." she said quietly.

"Ran…I'm sorry." Ahakon said looking down with remorse.

"You said it was a monster attack that took them from you, right?" Mizore asked softly. Ran nodded, the girl remembering the shadowy figure that was flying in her village that night.

"Yes…I saw it myself. It…destroyed everything. It killed so many of the villagers where I lived…and my parents too." she said looking down with sorrow. Yukari looked at the siren with worried eyes as the girl trembled a bit.

_She's lost so much…her family, her village…and then she was used along with her sisters by this dark monster as his slaves. She's been through hell and darkness for so long. The others were right, she just wants her hero to show her that there's hope._

"I'm so sorry Ran." Moka said softly. Yukari looked down with remorse then hugged the siren tightly, the girl looking to her with surprise.

"I'm sorry Ran, I never meant to take your hero away like that. I promise I'll be more considerate about your feelings." she said worriedly.

"What? My…feelings?" Ran said unsurely. Yukari backed up and nodded at the girl.

"You've been through so much in your life…so much pain and loss, I can see why you wanted a hero to believe in so badly." she said softly. Ran looked down with closed eyes as the group looked at her with sympathy. Yukari looked at the girl for a moment then smiled a bit.

"I'm glad…you found your hero Ran." she said softly. Ran slowly looked up to her with wonder as the witch smiled, the young girl then looking to Ahakon with an expectant expression.

"What are you just sitting there for Ahakon? She needs some comfort right about now." she said pointing to Ran. The boy jumped a bit and looked at her with wonder as the group looked at the witch curiously.

"What? But…I…" the boy stammered. Yukari growled and shook her head.

"You're her hero Ahakon, don't just sit there and do nothing!" she said. Ran slowly looked over to the mage as the boy blinked, his mind trying to comprehend what his girlfriend was telling him. After a pause he looked to Ran and smiled a bit.

"Ah…right. Anyway, Ran, we'll be alright. I promise you." he said standing up. The siren looked at him with wonder as the boy smiled confidently.

"We'll get you out of the darkness, you have my word. And we're also going to deal with your old master, he'll pay for using you the way he did." he said assuredly.

"Ahakon…" Ran said softly. The boy smiled gently at her and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I mean it Ran. I'll keep you safe, you have my word." he said gently. The girl looked at him with wonder as the group smiled at the mage. Yukari looked down with closed eyes and a gentle smile.

"My boyfriend's right Ran, we'll keep you safe and sound. You don't have anything to worry about." she said assuredly. She paused then looked back up, the girl then jumping with surprise as her eyes widened.

"Oh thank you Ahakon, you're the best! I knew I could depend on you!" Ran cheered out as she was hugging the boy tightly, the mage's arms and legs flailing about as the girl had his face pressed into her bosom again. The siren was smiling softly with a blush while she held the boy closer, the girl having been moved by his words. Yukari just watched the sight with wide eyes then twitched a bit. She growled and raised her wand as the group looked to her worriedly, then paused and lowered it with a glare in her eyes still. After a moment she sighed and looked at Ran with a dull expression. She glanced to Rason as the group was watching the siren continuing to hold onto the mage despite the boy's frantic motions to try to free himself.

"Just out of curiosity Rason, do you like it when Kurumu does that to you?" she asked flatly. The angel jumped a bit and smiled nervously as the group looked to him.

"Well…I mean…it's not exactly _bad_…I guess…" he stammered. Kurumu looked at him curiously then smiled coyly.

"Rason…is that why you've never complained about that before? Do you…like me doing that?" she asked. The boy blushed a bit and looked up with a nervous smile.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised seeing as how he never really fights you off." Dark said plainly. Kurumu blushed a bit while Rason rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well…um…I…" he said with a weak smile as Kurumu giggled. Yukari sighed and looked back to Ran, the siren jumping back with a scream as she let go of Ahakon. The boy dropped to the ground unconscious as the group looked down to him. Ran blinked then slowly looked back to Yukari.

"Um…sorry?" she squeaked out. Yukari looked down to her sleeping boyfriend then back to the siren. The witch walked over and knelt down next to her boyfriend, the girl shaking him a bit to try to wake him back up.

"Ran." she said simply. The siren gulped and looked at her nervously.

"Yes…Yukari?" she asked with a bit of fear. The witch glanced back to the girl as she kept casually shaking the dazed mage.

"I'm fine with him being your hero. I'm fine with you being around him. I'm fine with you looking to him for your ray of hope in this bleak time." she said. Ran looked at the witch worriedly as the girl kept shaking Ahakon a bit.

"However, shove his face into your breasts one more time and you and I are going to have a problem." she said with narrowed eyes. Ran jumped a bit as the others looked at the witch curiously.

"But…you promised…" Ran said nervously. Yukari nodded while still looking at the siren with a dull expression.

"I promised I wouldn't use my washtubs on you, and that I would be considerate of your feelings." she said simply. Ran looked at the witch curiously as the young girl looked back to her boyfriend.

"I never said anything about not burying you alive for suffocating my boyfriend with your boobs." she said flatly. Ran jumped a bit as the group looked at the witch with weak smiles.

"Well…I suppose that's fair." Moka said with a shrug.

"What?" Ran said looking to her with fear.

"Well you did just suffocate him with assets that Yukari will never possess." Kurumu said with a giggle.

BANG!

The succubus dropped to the ground from a golden washtub connecting to her head as Yukari glanced back to the group.

"Hey, Ran." she called out. The siren jumped a bit and looked to her with fear as Rason was looking down at his dazed girlfriend.

"Don't just stand there, help me wake him up." Yukari said looking back to her boyfriend. Ran nodded nervously then raced over, the two girls then shaking the mage as he was still out cold. Kurumu jumped back up and tried to race towards the witch with a loud growl before Rason grabbed her and held the enraged succubus back. Moka watched them with a weak smile while Mizore and Dark just looked at the sleeping mage being shaken by the two girls.

"Easy dear, save your strength." Rason said as he held his girl back. Kurumu blinked then looked to the angel, then up at the ceiling. Moka, Mizore, and Dark looked up as well while Yukari and Ran continued to try to wake the sleeping mage up.

"Think you can give it another go Kurumu?" Moka asked looking to her friend. The succubus looked around at the ceiling with worry as her angel held her, the girl feeling the bond flowing through them and helping calm her mind down.

"I can try, I just hope we're not too far underground." she said worriedly.

Ahakon jumped up with a gasp, the boy blinking then looking around quickly.

"What…what happened?" he asked. He looked to see Yukari and Ran looking at him with relief.

"You're ok, I'm so glad. Sorry about that Ahakon, I…got a little carried away again." Ran said looking down timidly. Ahakon nodded and smiled a bit.

"I noticed, but that's alright. Don't worry about it Ran." he said. He looked over to seeing Yukari giving the siren a dull stare. Ran looked at the witch nervously before the young girl sighed and looked back to Ahakon.

"I love you Ahakon." she said softly. The boy blinked and smiled a bit at her.

"I…love you too Yukari." he said.

"Good. Now, please try to keep this poor girl calm. I'd really hate to have to bury my friend alive for crossing that _line_ again." the witch said looking over to Ran with a raised eyebrow. The siren jumped a bit and nodded nervously.

"I'll behave, I swear." she said quickly. Ahakon looked between them curiously then over to see Kurumu's wings and tail igniting again, the group looking over to the succubus as she summoned her demonic strength again. Ahakon, Yukari, and Ran got up as the group backed up a bit from Kurumu, the girl summoning her full power again as she was looking up at the hole in the ceiling with a focused expression.

"Well, here goes." she said before flying up at high speed towards the hole up above. The group watched her fly up through the broken ceiling as other monsters around the area had stopped once again and looked up to where a massive amount of demonic energy had erupted out of nowhere.

"Do you think she can break through this time?" Mizore asked softly.

"I hope so." Moka said with worry.

"What do we do if she can't?" Ran asked looking around at the group.

"Pray for a miracle." Rason said softly.

"We're buried underground in the human world with the HDA trying to kill us. Nobody else knows we're here. If Kurumu can't get us out of here I don't think anybody can." Yukari said worriedly.

"If she can fly us out of here we're going to be in for one hell of a fight up there." Ahakon said worriedly.

"We may be out gunned but we'll survive. We've been through worse." Dark said in his usual tone.

"Still, I wish we weren't alone in this." Moka said shaking her head.

"I could help with that, if you'd like." a voice said from nearby. The group looked over towards a holding cell as a figure was leaning against the wall near the bars.

"I myself could use a hand getting out of here, perhaps we could help each other." the boy's voice said again. Yukari held out her wand and slowly walked towards the bars along with the group.

"Sorry, but we'd rather not get help from criminals of the monster world. We're not the bad guys here after all." Rason said cautiously. The figure laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Well, we're all considered criminals here friend, I don't think these humans are going to say differently now, especially after how you all broke out of your cells and caused such a lovely commotion. And I'm not a bad guy for the record, just another monster wrongly treated by the HDA and locked away. I'm as innocent as you are." he said simply. Yukari held out her wand and illuminated the cell.

"Who are you anyway?" she asked. Inside the cell the figure walked up towards the bars and was seen in the light. He stood about as tall as Tsukune, the boy having long black hair tied into a long braid behind him that had two small yellow beads at the end. He had feminine looking eyes that were light pink and thin eyebrows. He was wearing a light blue Chinese long sleeve jacket, black pants, and light blue shoes. He smiled kindly at the group and gave a slight bow.

"My name is Fang Fang, nice to make your acquaintance fellow prisoners of war."


	5. Another Thing Gone Wrong

All of Dark's friends knew the story about the young snow girl that set him free, how she had granted him life even after she was cut down by his blade when he was under his old master's command. How the shadow demon adopted her last name in honor of her, and even wore headphones everywhere he went as the young girl used to. She was like a mother to him, a guardian angel, for it was because of her will that he lived and it was for her memory that he strived to be a good soul in the world, even though he was made of countless dark souls from hell. It was she that allowed the shadow demon to be free, it was she that set into motion Fairy Tale's downfall by inspiring the shadow demon to have a heart.

And it was she that was screaming out furiously while snow and ice was forming around her, the young snow angel that had returned to the mortal realm to find the demon that she was so in love with.

"Arial stop! Please!" Complica cried out from behind Razico, the young chronofly angel staying out of sight as she felt chills run down her spine.

"Stop this Arial!" Gabriel yelled out as he shielded his eyes with his arm, the angel stepping back from the snow girl as ice spires jettisoned around her. The group slowly backed up a bit as the girl yelled out with anger.

"YOU WON'T KEEP ME FROM HIM!" she screamed as the hallway flash froze around her, the ground freezing over and erupting into ice spires as a blast of arctic wind flew down the halls.

"My god…her monster energy." Ruby said with wide eyes. A sheer torrent of chilled air and monster energy swirled around the snow angel as her hair was frozen over, the girl growling loudly as she had her fists clenched. The group looked at her with wonder and a bit of fear as the hallway around her was covered in solid ice.

"Enough Arial! I need to get you back to heaven before it's too late!" Gabriel yelled out as he glanced to the snow girl.

"This is the girl that freed Dark that night?" Kokoa said shaking her head.

"She's…got a bit of a temper doesn't she?" Razico said cautiously.

"You have no idea! Get her to stop before she goes crazy!" Complica pleaded loudly.

"Wait, _this_ isn't 'going crazy' for her?" Render asked looking at the snow angel carefully while Apoch was shivering from the cold wind flowing down the hall.

"Could have fooled me." Leon said cautiously as Astreal stared at the snow angel with wide eyes.

"Just how much energy does she have?" Ruby said looking to Gabriel.

"Being a soul she didn't have physical restraints on her power in heaven, and it looks like it still applies to her now down here." Gabriel said worriedly.

"So…what does that mean?" Gin asked glancing to the angel cautiously.

"Her power…might be limitless in this state." the angel said as Arial screamed out, the girl creating a frozen wave of spikes that erupted around her. The walls of the hall on either side of the snow angel were obliterated as the jagged spires smashed through the steel and plaster. The group looked at it with surprise then to Arial as the girl thrashed around in her rage.

"Holy shit…she's out of control." Ruby said backing up more.

"You think this is bad? Imagine what'll happen if she learns about you-know-who." Gabriel said looking back to the group. They thought about that and jumped at the realization.

"Oh god…Mizore…" Kokoa said quietly while covering her mouth.

"She'll kill us all if she learns the truth." Gin said trembling. Sun nodded fearfully and stepped behind the boy as the cold air flew around the hallway.

"Arial please! We don't have time for this, Dark needs our help now!" Complica cried out. The group looked to her as Arial stopped screaming, the snow angel looking towards her friend then jumping a bit.

"Wait, that's right! We have to hurry, c'mon!" she yelled as she started running down the hall. Gabriel grabbed her hand and held her back as the group looked back to her cautiously.

"Hold on Arial, you're not going anywhere but back to heaven." he said sternly.

"Let me go! My husband needs me! Let me go!" Arial yelled as she tried to yank away from Gabriel. Complica ran over to him and grabbed his other arm and started tugging on it with fright.

"Please help Gabriel! We found Dark and the others but they're trapped underground and there's a bomb and it's going to explode if all these doors close and we can't let them close and they might close any second now unless we keep them from closing otherwise Dark and the other monsters down there are going to be blown to bits!" she cried out. Gabriel looked to her as Arial yanked away from the angel.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"Does she even know what a comma is?" Render asked raising an eyebrow.

"I got 'bomb' and 'underground' out of all that." Leon said glancing to the others.

"Bomb? Where? Where are they?" Razico said quickly.

"They're in some holding area, but it's underground now! We have to help them before that bomb explodes!" Arial cried out.

"Where is this holding area?" Ruby asked urgently. Sun grabbed Gin's hand and took off down a hall with Kokoa looked over with surprise.

"Hey! Get back here with my boyfriend!" she yelled as she took off after the siren with her oversized morning star.

"C'mon!" Complica cried out grabbing Gabriel's hand and taking off after them. Arial followed after while the group just watched the snow angel carefully.

"Well, that snow maiden friend of yours is going to die." Ceal said flatly.

"I can't believe it, that's the snow girl that freed Dark. It's really her." Ruby said with wonder.

"She's…not as gentle as I had imagined her in the stories." Apoch said worriedly.

"She's out of her mind, I mean she tore apart the area with just a tantrum. What…what's she going to do to Ms. Mizore when she learns the truth?" Astreal said nervously.

"Arial's going to tear her to pieces when she learns the truth, did you see all that monster energy? Mizore won't stand a chance against her." Ruby said fearfully.

"Seriously, _that's_ the girl that freed Dark?" Razico said in disbelief.

"Well, let's go and try to keep your friends alive long enough for Arial to kill them." Render said with a shrug before they took off after the group.

Up ahead Sun was dragging Gin down the hallway quickly, the boy looking at her with surprise.

_What's she doing here? And…what was with that kiss? She picks _now_ to kiss me of all times?_

She pulled him over to where Complica had torn apart the blast door into where the holding atrium was, the siren looking to Gin then pointing to the monitor. He looked at it for a moment then quickly grabbed Sun and moved her away as a giant morning star crashed down where she was just standing.

"You think you can kiss my boyfriend like that and get away with it? You're dead!" Kokoa yelled as she geared back with her weapon again.

"Kokoa wait! Stop, she's an old friend, that's all!" Gin cried out waving his arms around while Sun looked at the vampire cautiously.

"An old friend? She _kissed_ you! She's dead meat, that's what she is!" Kokoa yelled out.

"Please wait Kokoa! I can explain!" Gin pleaded loudly. The vampire swung again towards Sun, with Gin grabbing the siren and jumping away as the giant weapon crashed down into the ground again.

"Get away from her Gin! I'm going to show that bitch her place, as a smoldering crater under my foot!" the vampire yelled as she geared back again.

"Kokoa stop!" Gabriel called out running up to them with Complica and Arial.

"Don't hurt our friend!" Complica pleaded.

"Touch a hair on her head and you're dead!" Arial yelled out with her hands freezing over into claws. Kokoa looked back to the snow angel nervously then to Sun as the siren was watching her carefully. Gin looked between the two worriedly then to the monitor again.

"Is this what you wanted to show us Sun?" he asked. The siren nodded and pointed to the monitor as the others ran up to them.

"Where are they?" Razico said looking around.

"They're underground, see?" Complica said pointing to the monitor. The group looked at it then over to the door that the chronofly had torn apart. Razico ran over and looked around inside then down at the large metal gates that were closed.

"They're buried underground. We heard some humans saying that once all four of those big gates close the bomb in the holding area will blow up." Arial said nervously. The warlock growled then ran back over to the screen with a look of frustration.

"Oh man, we need to stop…wait, it looks like it already stopped." Razico said looking at the monitor.

"Yeah, something happened and the fourth gate stopped a little while ago. We weren't sure what happened but we wanted to make sure that they couldn't fix it. It's a hair away from closing, we can't let them fix whatever went wrong otherwise Dark's a goner." Arial said nervously.

"Wait…a little while ago?" Leon said carefully. The group looked to Render who was tilting his head a bit. He glanced around then looked up in thought.

"Um…" he said simply.

"That engine room we were in…" Ruby said with surprise.

"Oh yeah…heh, kinda ruined that place didn't I?" Render said with a laugh.

"Wait, it was you? You stopped the gate from closing?" Arial said looking at the battlemage with wide eyes.

"It seems so, looks like they had mechanical problems with that gate. And we were just in a large room with gears and pistons a while ago." Apoch said looking to Render. He smiled a bit and nodded.

"Well, looks like it was a good thing I was there after all." he said proudly.

"Oh please, your sword accidently got caught in the gears, you didn't know what you were doing." Leon said shaking his head. Render rolled his eyes and glanced to his friend with a dull expression.

"Hey, I just saved everybody down there with my beautiful sword, the least you could do is say 'Thank you Render, you're the best. What would we do without you?'" he said flatly. He was suddenly tackled to the ground by Arial, the snow angel's wings fluttering a bit as the two swords of the battlemage dropped to the ground.

"You're the best! You saved my husband!" she cheered out with joy as a cold blast of air blew around her. Render shivered a bit and looked at the girl with a nervous smile.

"Um…yay?" he said unsurely.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I promise I won't forget this ever, you'll be an usher at Dark and I's wedding for this great service!" Arial said leaning back and looking at the boy with a bright smile.

"An usher…I'm honored." the boy said nervously with a smile.

"They can't fix the problem? Really?" Complica said looking to Gabriel. The angel shook his head with a smirk.

"I doubt it. That place was in ruins after we left, they're not going to be closing that gate anytime soon." he said. The chronofly smiled with relief then looked to Arial as the snow angel was getting up from the frosted battlemage. The boy shivered and slowly got up with Apoch's help as the snow girl looked to the monitor with hopeful eyes.

"Now all we gotta do is dig them out of there! This is great!" she cheered out.

"Wow that's cold." Render shivered as he picked up his swords again.

"That was a close one, it looks like that last gate was almost closed when we happened by the engine room." Gabriel said with wonder.

"It's all thanks to my usher, he saved the wedding! It's a miracle!" Arial cheered out looking to Render. The boy smiled weakly and glanced around at the group.

"Yeah…totally what I had in mind then." he said with a shrug. Arial ran into the empty chamber above the large metal gate and looked around at it.

"Alright Complica, let's get to it!" she cheered out. The chronofly gripped her bat and ran in, the girl shifting forward and swinging out as the steel below her was torn apart. She shifted around franticly as more steel got torn apart wildly below her, the girl then appearing over by the door with a worried expression.

"Um…how deep are they?" she asked nervously. Arial looked around at the steel that her friend tore apart then looked to the group who was staring at the chronofly curiously.

"Are you…using a baseball bat…to tear apart the steel floor?" Render asked pointing to the girl's bat with a puzzled expression.

"She's shifting through time like her sisters could, she's using the bat to attack with like when we fought against Alucard." Ruby said in wonder.

"Wait…what?" Arial said looking to Ruby. She ran over and looked around at the group.

"You…you were there that day with my husband?" she said in surprise. Gabriel slowly nodded as Ruby, Razico, Gin, Kokoa, Apoch, and Astreal smiled a bit.

"Yeah, we were there. It was because of your sisters' help that were able to stop that thing once and for all." Gin said with a smile. He blinked then looked to Sun, the siren staring at him with wide eyes. She shakily grabbed her sketchpad and hastily wrote down something while staring at the boy as one of her eyes twitched a bit.

You were one of those heroes that day?

He smiled nervously and nodded as the siren looked at him with amazement.

"Well…yeah, I guess I was." he said with a weak smile. Kokoa glared at the siren as she moved closer to her while growling a bit.

"That's right, me and _my_ boyfriend were there fighting to save your sorry ass from annihilation." she said sternly. Sun looked at the group with surprise then to Arial, the snow angel looking around at the group with wonder.

"Wow…I heard stories about all of you during that fight. This is amazing! You're like legends with my Dark!" she cheered out with a bright smile.

"Well…I don't know about legends…" Ruby said bashfully while looking away.

"Hey, somebody had to save the world that day." Razico said with a proud smile and a shrug.

"Always knew my girl had a lot of fight in her." Render said glancing to Apoch, the girl blushing and smiling timidly at him.

"We just did what needed to be done." Astreal said calmly while Leon looked to her with a small smile.

"Amazing…this is awesome! My husband is as good as saved with you all here!" Arial cheered out.

"Arial…" Gabriel said face palming and shaking his head. Arial grabbed Complica's hand and started running back into the empty chamber.

"C'mon Complica, dig down to them so we can get my Dark out of there!" she cheered happily.

"Arial stop!" Gabriel yelled out. The snow angel stopped and looked back to him as Complica had a nervous expression.

"You and Complica are coming with me right now, I need to get you two back into heaven before anything happens to you." he said sternly.

"Listen to him Arial, we need to go back to our own realm before it's too late." Complica said worriedly.

"What? No way! I'm not going anywhere now that I'm so close to being with my Dark again!" Arial yelled out.

"Dammit Arial, this isn't a game. You could be gone from all existence if anything were to happen to you." Gabriel said walking into the chamber. The others followed after as the snow angel growled and shook her head.

"I don't care! I don't care what happens to me, all I care about is being with my husband!" she yelled out. Complica backed up from the girl as snow and ice started to appear on the ground around her.

"Arial please, calm down." the chronofly said worriedly.

"No!" Arial yelled as she stomped her foot down, the echoing sound of the thud being heard as an ice spire shot up behind the girl. She shook her head and looked to Gabriel with frustration.

"My husband is right below this barrier, I can't just leave him like this! Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to stand in my way of seeing him again!" she yelled out.

Suddenly a banging sound was heard below them, the group blinking and looking down. A large thud was heard as the gate budged a bit.

"What…what's that?" Arial asked.

Another large thud was heard as the steel creaked and groaned a bit. The group looked around carefully as another bang was heard with a slight shake in the gate.

"Um…what's going on now?" Gin asked as the group slowly looked around at the ground.

Suddenly the steel ground behind Arial dented upward, the girl looking back to it as her snow spire cracked apart and fell to pieces around the indentation. The steel banged and bent around upwards as the group stared at it with wide eyes.

"What…the hell is that?" Render asked as he gripped his swords tightly.

"Arial get away from there!" Ruby yelled out.

The steel blasted upward as a purplish firestorm shot up from the ground, the fires flaring upward as a blue haired succubus shot through the ground with a furious yell. Arial shrieked as the fire flew by her, the girl stumbling back then dropping to the ground as Kurumu flew up into the air, her demonic flames casting the area into a purplish glow.

"Arial!" Complica cried out as Arial lay motionless on the ground.

"What the hell is that?" Render said getting into an attack stance.

"Kurumu?" Ruby, Kokoa, and Gin said with surprise.

"Kurumu?" Razico said with shock at seeing the succubus flying in the air with her flaming wings and tail.

"What happened to her?" Apoch and Astreal cried out with surprise.

"She appears to be on fire." Ceal said flatly with a raised eyebrow.

"Arial!" Gabriel cried out running over to the snow angel. The group looked over to seeing him lifting the snow girl into his arms, the boy looking at her with fright.

"No, no! Arial!" he yelled out shaking the girl a bit. Her head rocked a bit on his arm as her body was motionless.

"Oh my god! Is she ok?" Kokoa said running over to the snow angel.

"Is _she_ ok? Kurumu's on _fire_!" Razico yelled out while pointing to the succubus. Kurumu yelled out into the air then looked down at the group, all of them looking up at her with surprise. The succubus was breathing heavily with a blush, the girl looking at the group down below as she tilted her head a bit. The girl growled heavily then flew down in a purplish blur, the girl shooting down and tackling Sun to the ground with a pounce. The group looked to her as the succubus kissed the siren deeply while her wings arched back, the silent girl staring with shock as Kurumu started to grab her breasts.

"What the hell is she doing?" Ruby cried out shaking her head.

"Sun!" Gin yelled as he ran over, the boy grabbing the succubus and trying to throw her off of the siren. Kurumu swatted him away effortlessly, the wolf flying over and smacking into the wall with a thud as the group stared at the succubus that was kissing the siren passionately.

"What is going on here?" Razico yelled out.

"She's raping Sun!" Complica cried out as she ran over, the chronofly whacking her bat alongside Kurumu's head. The girl was knocked clean off the siren and tumbled over as her flames died out, the girl collapsing down as Sun scrambled back a bit with a look of shock on her face.

"Are you alright Sun?" Complica asked as the siren slowly stood back up again.

"Arial! Arial speak to me!" Gabriel cried out as he shook the angel a bit. The group looked from Kurumu to Sun, then back to Arial as they ran over to her while the siren was looking at the love demon that nearly raped her with wide eyes still.

"She's not moving, is she ok?" Kokoa asked worriedly.

"Her lifeforce, it took a severe hit from the fire." Gabriel said as she looked at the snow angel with worry. The girl's lifeforce was nearly wiped out with that blast of heat so close to her.

"My god, she nearly died…she nearly died for good!" Kokoa cried out shaking her head.

"What happened to Kurumu? Her body was on fire!" Razico said looking back to the unconscious girl. Suddenly multiple winged monsters flew out from the hole in the ground, the group stumbling back as the winged monsters flew up and around inside the chamber. The beasts roared and snarled before flying down and racing out the opened doorway into the HDA command center. Apoch and Astreal screamed as they raised their barriers before them, the girls deflecting a few large monsters that banged against their shields as they flew out the open door into the center. The group watched them fly out as crashes and explosions started to echo outside then looked back to Arial.

"Arial wake up! Wake up wake up wake up!" Complica cried out running over to her friend and hopping up and down. Gin slowly got back to his feet then looked over to Kurumu.

"Wow, she packs a punch even with a mere touch like that." he said rubbing his side. He then looked over to Sun as the siren was staring at Kurumu with shock still, the girl slowly looking over to him as he ran over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The girl looked at him for a moment then leapt into a hug with him as the boy showed a bit of surprise.

"Hey! Get off him!" Kokoa yelled as she looked over to the siren with fury in her eyes. She ran over towards Sun and grabbed the girl, then flung her over into a tumble next to Kurumu.

"What do you think you're doing hugging my mate like that?" the vampire barked out as she gripped her large morning star. Sun slowly got up, then looked to the unconscious succubus next to her with a jump. She quickly scooted away from the girl then looked to Kokoa as the vampire growled at her with fury.

"Is she going to be ok?" Ruby asked worriedly looking at the unconscious snow angel.

"I hope so, she almost ceased to exist right then and there." Gabriel said worriedly.

"I know snow people are weak against fire, but how did that little blast of heat nearly kill her?" Ruby asked with concern.

"She doesn't have a physical body, all you see here is her soul. She has literally no resistance to fire whatsoever, even a small flame can kill her in this state." Gabriel said as he held the snow angel.

"My god, if the fires had touched her…" Apoch said with wide eyes.

"She would have died on the spot." Gabriel said shaking his head. The group looked at the snow angel with worry. Even though she had far greater monster energy then when she was alive, she had a serious Achilles heel; even a small fire was lethal to the snow angel.

"You need to get her out of here Gabriel. Dark would go on a rampage if he found out Arial's soul was destroyed." Ruby said worriedly. She looked over to where Gin was trying to hold back Kokoa, the vampire yelling and swinging her morning star around as she tried to charge Sun.

"Hey! Would you knock it off, we have bigger issues to deal with right now than Gin's old girlfriend." Razico called out. Kokoa looked back to Gin with wide eyes as the boy waved his arms around franticly.

"She's not my old girlfriend, she's just a friend! Really!" he pleaded. Sun looked at him curiously then over towards the group, the girl then looking upwards as her eyes followed something. The group looked up to see an angel flying up into the air, his wings glowing a bit as he looked around quickly. His shirts were tied around his waist as his wings flapped behind him.

"Rason!" Gabriel called up to his friend. Rason looked down with surprise at seeing everybody and quickly landed down next to them.

"Gabriel? Wha…what are you all doing here?" he asked looking around.

"Rason you're alive!" Astreal cheered as she ran over and hugged the angel. Leon's eyebrow twitched as he saw his girlfriend hugging the half naked angel. Rason looked with surprise as the witch looked up to him with a bright smile.

"Astreal? What are you doing here?" he asked with a smile.

"We came to rescue you." Astreal said backing up from the boy a bit.

"I didn't hear a 'Mr.' there, did you?" Render asked with a raised eyebrow. Leon shook his head slowly as he looked at the new angel.

"So…that's her old boyfriend?" he asked glancing to Apoch. The witch smiled nervously and nodded a bit.

"Um…in a way." she said softly. Leon raised an eyebrow then looked back to the new angel cautiously.

"Thank god you're alright, are the others down below? Are they ok still?" Ruby asked worriedly. Rason looked to her and nodded.

"Yeah, we're all still alive, but what are you all doing here? And…where's Kurumu?" he asked looking around quickly. He looked over to his unconscious girl and blinked, then glanced to Gin and Kokoa.

"Yeah…she sorta…lost it again." Kokoa said with a weak smile.

"She tried to rape Sun, we had to…knock her out. Sorry." Gin said with a shrug. Sun looked at the succubus with worry then to the new angel.

"She did what? To who?" Rason said looking over to the siren.

"Gin's old girlfriend apparently." Razico said with a shrug.

"She's not my old girlfriend!" Gin cried out as Sun looked at him with a bit of wonder while Kokoa growled furiously. Before anybody could say a word explosions and loud roars were heard echoing out inside the command center as the place shook a bit.

"Um, could we possibly have introductions later and get the hell out of here as soon as possible? I don't think this is the best place for you guys to be having your reunion." Render said looking to the new angel.

"He's right, we need to get the others out of here while we can." Ruby said looking to the hole in the steel ground.

"Dark…" Arial said quietly as she stirred a bit. Rason looked to her curiously as Gabriel held the snow angel.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"We'll explain everything later Rason, just know that the world's gone to hell and very _very_ strange things have happened." Razico said glancing to the snow angel. Rason nodded slowly then looked to Gabriel with a puzzled expression.

"He's right friend, for now let's get everybody out of here. We have much to tell you, and not enough time to do so here." he said worriedly as he looked to the snow angel. Rason looked at the group of monsters and slowly nodded then looked back to the hold in the ground.

"Um, alright then. I could use some help carrying the others out though." He said looking back to the group. Ruby's raven wings extended out as Astreal manifested her glowing wings. Gabriel nodded then looked over to Ceal as he walked towards the angel. The mage took the snow angel from the boy and held her in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.

"I'm taking these two up to the roof to await their escort." Ceal said glancing to Complica.

"What?" she asked worriedly. He looked at her with a blank expression.

"You're staying with me, I won't let Falla's sister come to any harm while I'm forced to be here." he said eyeing the chronofly carefully.

"Falla's sister?" Rason said looking at the girl. He saw the butterfly wings as she looked to him nervously.

"Wait…but…" he said looking to Gabriel cautiously. The angel looked at the chronofly then back to his friend with worry.

"Again, much to tell you, not enough time. Let's get your friends out of there as fast as we can, we'll explain everything later." he said with haste. He then looked back to Ceal as the boy held Arial in his arms.

"For the love of the Almighty, please watch them closely." He said urgently. Ceal nodded and glanced to Complica.

"Let's go." He said simply.

"But…" Complica said looking to Gabriel.

"Just go with him, you'll be safe under his care. I'll meet you two up on the roof and take you back to heaven when we get the others out." Gabriel said assuredly.

"Back to heaven?" Rason said slowly as he looked to the chronofly angel.

"Shouldn't we all go up together? This place is turning into a warzone." Gin said looking towards the doorway where roars of monsters and gunfire echoed out.

"You want this snow angel here when the shadow demon and his wife show up?" Ceal asked glancing to the wolf. Gin looked at him with worry then to Arial.

"That's a very good point." Ruby said with a nod.

"Yeah, get her out of here. Please." Render urged with an eager nod.

"Snow angel?" Rason said looking to Arial.

"Never mind that, c'mon Rason." Gabriel said taking off his shirts and tying them around his waist, the angel then extending out his wings. Rason looked around with a confused expression then towards Kurumu.

"Alright, just…watch over her would you?" he asked before he and the other angel flew up and then down into the breach in the ground. Ruby and Astreal followed after as the group watched them go. Sun showed a determined expression and extended her wings, then followed them as well down through the opening.

"Who the hell is she Gin?" Kokoa said sternly looking to the wolf. He smiled nervously and shook his head.

"Just an old friend from the academy, before she graduated she was in charge of the newspaper club." he said nervously.

"An old friend that hugs and kisses you?" Kokoa said with a loud growl.

"I…um…well…I didn't expect that either to be honest." Gin said nervously as he backed up a bit.

"Who the hell IS SHE?" Kokoa roared out.

"Well, while she murders you I'm going to take these two to the roof. Tell that angel to hurry up and meet us there when he's done." Ceal said calmly as he started walking towards the door. The group looked to him as he stopped and glanced back to Complica.

"Let's go, you're staying in my sight at all times." he said firmly.

"Who are you anyway?" Complica asked worriedly.

"He's Falla's boyfriend Complica, his name is Ceal. He'll take care of you." Leon said assuredly.

"You're…my sister's boyfriend?" Complica asked. Ceal merely nodded as the chronofly looked at him curiously. Complica looked around at the others then walked over to him.

"It was nice to have met you Complica." Kokoa said gently. The chronofly looked over to her as the vampire smiled.

"Luna was right, you really are an angel." she said with a warm smile.

"You know my sister?" Complica asked softly.

"Yes, and we know all about the danger she's in. Rest assured that we're going to get her out of the darkness when we're done here, I promise you that." Razico said assuredly. Complica nodded with a worried expression then looked to Ceal. He glanced back to her then looked ahead.

"You are?" she asked worriedly. He nodded as he kept looking forward.

"I'll rip apart the monster responsible for this nightmare myself chronofly, make no mistake about that." he said simply. She smiled a bit and nodded then looked back to the others.

"Thank you, all of you." she said graciously.

"Get to the roof and wait for Gabriel, he'll take you back home with Arial. Stay close to Ceal, he may be lacking basic social skills and manners, but he'll keep you safe from the humans." Razico said glancing to Ceal. The mage just glanced to him without a reaction then looked ahead again. Complica nodded then looked to Ceal, the mage then walking out the door holding the unconscious snow angel. The chronofly looked to the others and waved a bit, then followed him out into the hall.

"Incredible, I never dreamed we would have met them like this. The snow girl that freed Dark and Luna's little sister." Kokoa said softly.

"Yeah, a polite dead sister and a crazy snow angel, today's full of surprises." Render said with a smirk.

"Still hard to believe that crazy snow girl was the one that freed Dark." Gin said with wonder.

"Do you think they'll be ok on their own? Should we go help them?" Apoch asked curiously.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Ceal's shown himself to be quite capable of dealing with those that get in his way, usually in a very brutal and merciless sort of way. I have a feeling he can handle babysitting those two for now." Render said simply.

"I'm sure with Falla's sister being with him he won't take any chances with their safety, he wouldn't want Falla to be sad after all. Right now we need to focus on getting the others out of here, things are going to get crazy with all those monsters running wild inside this place." Leon said looking to the open doorway where gunfire and monstrous roars were heard echoing out. Apoch walked over to Kurumu and looked at her curiously.

"Um…why was she on fire like that?" she asked looking back to the group.

"And why did she try to make out with Gin's old girlfriend?" Razico asked looking to the wolf. Gin jumped a bit and waved his arms around franticly while Kokoa growled with anger.

"She's not my girlfriend, she was just a friend from the academy, really!" he pleaded.

"Just who the hell is she anyway?" Kokoa yelled out. Gin stammered a bit and smiled nervously at his girlfriend while Apoch looked back down to Kurumu, the succubus out cold and breathing softly.

_What happened to you Ms. Kurumu?_

* * *

Inside the holding atrium Moka and the rest of her group were looking up towards where Rason had flown off to see how his girlfriend was doing, the group having Yukari's wand lighting the area around them softly. The roars of the monsters that couldn't fly out still echoed around the atrium as the escaped prisoners were banging and charging against the blast doors in a futile effort to break out.

"Do you think Kurumu broke through yet?" Yukari asked softly.

"She and Rason haven't come back yet, either they got through or Kurumu's likely occupied with him." Ahakon said with a worried expression.

"I hope they got through ok." Moka said softly. Ran trembled a bit and looked around at the darkness.

"Me too, I want out of this place right now." she said nervously.

"What about him?" Mizore asked looking towards a cell that had a figure standing by the bars. The group looked over to him as he smiled nervously.

"So…could you please help me?" Fang Fang asked kindly. Dark looked at him for a moment then took Mizore's rifle, the boy then aiming at the cell with a keen eye.

"Whoa! Hold on, if you don't want to help that doesn't mean you have to kill me!" Fang Fang cried out as he ran back to the far wall, the boy pressing against it and looking at the demon with wide eyes.

BANG!

A shot echoed out as a bullet sparked against the cell door. The group watched as the lock to the cell crumbled apart, then looked to Dark. The demon handed the rifle back to Mizore and walked up to the cell. He grabbed the door and yanked back on it, the boy shattering the broken steel and opening the cell door. Fang Fang smiled brightly and walked up towards the demon.

"Thank you, you had me scared there for a moment. And what might your name be good sir?" he asked kindly. He stopped as the demon stood there holding the cell door while staring at him.

"Can you fly?" Dark asked flatly. Fang Fang blinked then slowly shook his head.

"Well, no, I'm afraid I cannot." he said with a shrug.

"Something to consider then…" Dark said as he glanced behind him. He looked back to the boy with narrowed eyes.

"It's a long way down to the ground from up here." he said coldly. Fang Fang jumped a bit and looked at the demon worriedly as the group watched him carefully. Dark walked back towards the others while looking around at the darkness with a casual glance.

"I…I assure you I mean you and your friends no harm." Fang Fang said as he slowly walked out of the cell.

"So Fang Fang…what were you in for?" Yukari asked with a raised eyebrow. The boy looked to her and smiled weakly.

"Well, for being a monster I'm afraid. Other than that I really have no outstanding charges with the human race." he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"What sort of monster are you?" Ahakon asked. The new boy smiled with a calm expression.

"I'm a Yasha, a summoner of sorts." he said with a polite bow.

"You're a monster summoner, I haven't met one of your kind before. What sorts of monsters can you summon?" Yukari asked curiously. The boy rubbed the back of his head with a simple smile.

"A few different kinds my dear, I'd be happy to show you provided we can escape this place." he said looking around. He then looked to the group and smiled curiously.

"So, who might you all be?" he asked.

"My name is Moka Akashiya. Nice to meet you." Moka said politely.

"I'm Yukari Sendo, and this is my boyfriend Ahakon Maradoza." Yukari said with a small wave. Ahakon nodded as Fang Fang smiled around at the group.

"I'm Ran Otonashi." Ran said looking at the boy carefully.

"I see, nice to meet you all. And what was your name my good sir? I didn't catch it after you liberated me from my cell." Fang Fang said looking to Dark. The demon glanced to him then looked away.

"Dark Kuyumaya." he said simply. Fang Fang nodded then looked to Mizore.

"And what might your name be my dear?" he asked.

"I'm his fiancée Mizore." the snow girl said softly.

"Ah, well congratulations you two. If we escape this place I'll be sure to send you two a lovely wedding gift." Fang Fang said with a polite smile. Mizore looked at him with a blank expression then back to Dark, the demon looking around up above with a careful eye.

"So, now that we've all gotten the introductions over, what is our next move here?" Fang Fang asked curiously.

"We're waiting to see if our friend can break through the ceiling to get us out of here." Moka said looking up.

"Ah yes, that girl with the purple flames on her wings. I was rather curious what that was all about, never quite seen a monster with such a display of power before." Fang Fang said looking up.

"She might be our only way out of here, we're just hoping that she can break through what's above us." Yukari said worriedly as she lifted her wand up, the witch peering around above for any sign of her friends.

"I see, and…if she can't? What do we do then?" Fang Fang asked curiously.

"Panic." Ran said nervously.

"Oh, well, I've done enough of that in the holding cell, so I think I'll try to remain optimistic about your friend." Fang Fang said with a weak smile. He chuckled and looked around at the group.

"Still, after seeing your performance breaking out of your own cells I feel confident your friend can do the impossible already." he said. The group looked to him with slight smirks as he looked back up at the ceiling. He showed a focused look and pointed to something.

"Isn't that your friend that flew up after the girl?" he asked. The group looked up to see four figures flying down to them.

"Rason, you're back. And…Gabriel? Ruby? Astreal?" Moka said with surprise as the four flyers touching down next to them. Rason and Gabriel's wings were glowing softly while Astreal's illuminated the area around her.

"What are you three doing here?" Mizore said looking at her friends.

"We came to bust you out of this place, what else?" Ruby said with a smirk.

"I met them up above after Kurumu broke through the steel barriers, them and a few others." Rason said looking to Gabriel curiously.

"It's a long story, we'll explain after we get you all out of here." Gabriel said looking around at the group.

"Yes, many things happened, world gone to hell, we'll give you all the details later." Ruby said with a nod.

"Astreal, where's Apoch? Or Falla?" Yukari asked worriedly.

"My sister is up above with the others, and Ms. Falla is back at Yokai Academy with Ms. Kyouko." Astreal said assuredly.

"She's alright? She's safe still? Wait, Kyouko's at the academy too? What's going on here?" Moka asked shaking her head.

"Who's that?" Ahakon said pointing up at something. The group looked to seeing Sun flying down towards them, the siren landing down and looking at the group with a bit of relief.

"Oh, that's Gin's ex-girlfriend I think." Rason said scratching his head. Sun jumped a bit with surprise as the group looked to her curiously.

"What? He had a girlfriend before Kokoa?" Moka asked with surprise. Sun showed a dull expression and rolled her eyes, then wrote down something on her sketchpad for the group to see.

I'm not his ex-girlfriend, but can we talk about that later?

"Um…why did she write that down instead of just telling us?" Yukari asked curiously.

"Again, we'll play 20 questions later, let's get you all out of here." Ruby said with a confident smile. She blinked then pointed to Fang Fang.

"Who's that?" she asked. The boy smiled and gave a polite bow.

"Fang Fang Huang, a pleasure to meet you all." he said graciously.

"Who…who's that?" Rason said looking to the others.

"Again, ask later, let's get going now." Dark said simply. The group looked to each other then around at the darkness.

"Alright, well let's get up top and get out of here. We brought the cavalry for the rescue and they're waiting for us." Ruby said with a nod. She blinked then looked to Dark and Mizore. The witch paused then looked to Gabriel and Astreal, the two also eyeing Dark and Mizore carefully.

"Any particular reason you're staring at us?" Dark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um…" Gabriel said looking up with worry. He slowly shook his head and glanced to Rason.

"No, nothing to worry about. Let's get them up top and out of here." he said. Rason looked at his friend curiously then to the others.

"Alright, Kurumu breached through the barriers, so let's get you guys out of here." he said walking over to Moka. The vampire smiled and nodded eagerly as the angel held her around the waist, the boy then flying up with her towards the opening in the ceiling. Ran extended her wings out as Sun walked over to them, the sirens looking at each other curiously. Ran smiled a bit then looked to Ahakon.

"Need a lift?" she asked with a giggle. The boy smiled a bit and nodded as Yukari rolled her eyes. The siren held the boy around his waist then flew up towards the others. Yukari watched them go then looked to Astreal as the witch walked over to her.

"Thank you Astreal." she said as the witch held her close.

"Of course Ms. Yukari, hang on." Astreal said as she took off into the air with the witch in her arms. Sun watched them fly up then looked to Fang Fang, the boy smiling curiously at her.

"Thank you for the assist my dear, it's much appreciated." he said. Sun glanced to the others then nodded at him. He walked over and the girl held onto his arm, then flew up towards the opening with a cautious expression.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Mizore said looking to Ruby and Gabriel. The angel and witch glanced to each other then looked back to the couple.

"You're still staring, what's going on?" Dark asked cautiously.

"It's just…we're glad you two are safe." Ruby said with a nervous laugh. Gabriel nodded then looked up again.

"Although I don't believe that as an excuse I'm more concerned about getting my fiancée out of here in one piece, so we can we just get going?" Dark asked.

"Fiancée?" Ruby said with surprise. She looked to Mizore as the snow maiden held up her hand showing them her wedding finger and the ring on it.

"Oh my…Mizore." Ruby said with awe.

"He made me an official engagement ring and proposed." Mizore said bashfully. Gabriel and Ruby smiled at the snow girl then looked to the shadow demon.

"Dark…Mizore…that's fantastic. I'm so happy for you two." Ruby said with a smile.

"Congratulations you two." Gabriel said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, now, can we get going?" Dark asked flatly. Ruby jumped a bit and nodded quickly.

"Right, of course." she said walking up to Mizore. She held her around the waist as the snow girl dropped the gun to the ground. She took off into the air as Gabriel looked to Dark, the two seen in the light from the angel's wings.

"Alright, let's get-"

"What aren't you telling us?" Dark asked cautiously. Gabriel looked at him with a bit of surprise as the demon narrowed his eyes.

"You kept staring at me and Mizore since you landed, in fact, why are you even here Gabriel? I thought your territory was in heaven." he asked carefully.

"I…well, there's been a few problems forming as I'm sure you've noticed." Gabriel said worriedly.

"I have noticed a few things today, yes. For starters I was shot in the leg and the school where Falla had been attending was destroyed. Not to mention that humans have been trying to execute us all day. Is there anything else I should know about?" Dark asked with a bit of a cold stare. Gabriel showed a worried expression and nodded.

"Yes, and we'll tell you all once we get out of here. I promise." he said. Dark nodded a bit then glanced to the side. Gabriel looked at him worriedly then upward.

_Please Ceal, get Arial to the roof quickly. If Dark finds out about her I fear he might be a bit angry with me…to say the least._

"Anyway, we'd better get going. Dark?" Gabriel said looking back to the demon and seeing that he was looking around carefully.

"Dark? What's wrong?" Gabriel asked.

"Listen." Dark said softly. Gabriel blinked then looked around. There was nothing but darkness around them as the two stood there.

In silence.

"It's…quiet." Gabriel said curiously.

"Too quiet." Dark said looking towards the center of the atrium. There were no roars or shouts from other captive monsters, there weren't any streaks of light from magic or fire anywhere on any of the floors. The entire atrium had fallen into darkness and silence.

"What is it?" Gabriel asked.

"Just another thing gone wrong I'm sure." Dark said as he narrowed his eyes. He and the angel looked around at the darkness in the center of the atrium. A slight rumbling was heard as steel and concrete cracked and bent around the area inside the darkness. Sounds of scratching and scraping were heard for a moment then silence again.

"We're not alone in here." Gabriel said cautiously. He glanced to Dark then to the pitch black atrium in front of him.

"What should we do?" he asked quietly.

From the darkness in front of them a giant red eye opened, the reptilian-like iris focusing a bit as it stared at the two boys who looked at it with surprise. A loud growling sound was heard as more sounds of concrete and steel being crushed and bent was heard all around them.

"I'd say run, but that's just me." Dark said simply.

* * *

Ceal was walking down a hallway inside the command center while holding Arial in his arms, the girl groaning softly every now and then as she felt incredibly weak. Complica was walking next to the boy while looking around nervously, the girl gripping her baseball bat tightly as she looked behind then forward again quickly.

"Don't worry, I'll keep them away from Arial for you, I promise." Complica said nervously.

"Another girl with a baseball bat to my rescue, I'm saved yet again." Ceal said flatly.

They walked forward into an intersection as two soldiers to their left and right were running closer, the HDA soldiers then looking with surprise and aiming their rifles at them.

"It's more of them! Shoot to kill!" one of them yelled out. Complica tensed up and looked around quickly before multiple dark rifts formed around the soldiers, the men looking with surprise as dark tentacles whipped out and ensnared them. In a flash the limbs ripped apart the humans and threw their ravaged remains all around the corridor walls into a bloody mess. Complica stared with wide eyes then looked to Ceal as the boy was still casually walking forward past the intersection.

"Stay close chronofly, I wouldn't want to be separated from my escort after all." he called out dryly. The girl looked around at the slaughtered soldiers with wide eyes then ran off after the catalyst mage. She ran up to him and kept pace with the boy as he was walking down the hall with a blank expression on his face still.

"How…how do you do that anyway? What are you? Are those icky tentacle things yours? Are you some sort of octopus-squid monster thing that walks on land but breathes in the water and have all these tentacles on you that you keep hidden in your shirt and pants and shoes? And what's with your hand? How come it looks like that? What happened to you? Were you in some sort of accident?" she asked curiously. Ceal stopped and glanced to the girl. He then held Arial in his arm with his reptilian hand and rested his other hand on the chronofly's head. She looked at him curiously as the boy looked at her for a moment before removing his hand.

"Your mind isn't suffering from chrono dementia like your sister's was, it appears your mental condition isn't curable. My sympathies." He said simply before walking ahead again. Complica looked at him curiously then walked after him.

"What do you mean? What did you just do? How come you held you hand to my head like that and what do you mean my condition isn't curable is there something wrong with me that I don't know about but everybody else does? What's wrong with me tell me please!" she cried out walking next to the boy. Ceal kept walking down the hall as Complica looked at him curiously, the chronofly tilting her head a bit. After a while she looked down with a gentle expression.

"So…you're going out with my sister?" she asked softly. Ceal nodded and kept looking ahead.

"Is she…really good now?" Complica asked worriedly. Ceal stopped and glanced to the girl, the chronofly looking up at him with concern.

"Yes, she is." He said softly. He looked at the girl carefully then resumed walking ahead.

"I heard about what happened, how her darker self was so cruel to you and helped you die." He said with a tone of regret.

"She may have shown me how to cast the spell knowing I would die, but I didn't care…I knew I would die by casting the forbidden spell from the start." Complica said looking down with closed eyes. Ceal stopped walking and looked to her curiously.

"You knew you would die yet you still cast it? Why?" he asked. Complica shed a tear and shook her head.

"Because I wanted to see my love again, I didn't care that I would die. I wanted to be with him again so badly." She said with a whimper. She wiped a tear away and looked up to Ceal.

"My sister was always so cold, only Luna was like a real sister to me. But even with her care I couldn't get over my love's death, I had to be with him again, even if only for one day." she said softly.

"You chose death for him." Ceal said softly.

"I chose to spend any time I could with him again, no matter the cost. I love him and I always will, nothing can change that." Complica said looking down with a gentle expression. They stood there in silence for a moment, with Ceal looking at the girl with a curious eye.

"To this day Falla blames herself for your death." he said softly. Complica looked up to him as he eyed the young chronofly angel.

"It tears her up inside knowing you're dead because of her darker self. Even if you cast the spell knowing full well you would perish in the end, Falla regrets ever having shown you the spell that she did." He said gently. The girl looked at him with teary eyes as he rested his normal hand on her head.

"The sister that was always so cold, the one that led to your death and the annihilation of your kingdom, is no more. Falla fought her inner demon Complica, and she won." He said gently. The girl looked at him with a bit of wonder then down again as he removed his hand.

"She won…" she said closing her eyes and wiping her tears away.

"I understand the pain of losing a loved one, I know how it must feel. However what you did was still foolish and selfish Complica." Ceal said shaking his head. The girl looked to him curiously as he had a bit of a softer expression for a moment.

"You left your family and friends, all because you were blinded by love. You caused them all such pain and heartache with your death, and you didn't even stop to think about that happening in your desire to spend a single day with this boy." He said with a tone of regret.

"I…just wanted to be with him again." Complica said worriedly.

"Is he in heaven now? Were you with him before coming down here?" Ceal asked.

"Not yet, the Almighty is still working to bring him and the other good monsters to our heaven up above." she said with concern.

"And how do you think he'll react hearing that the girl that loved him, that he loved as well, killed herself after he died?" Ceal asked with a cautious glance. Complica looked at him with worry then down.

"How do you imagine he'll take the news that he drove you to kill yourself, that he's responsible for you dying so early on in your life?" Ceal asked again. Complica trembled and looked to him with watery eyes.

"I…I…" she said shakily.

"Your family may have forgiven you for your actions, but what you did will still hurt them inside. Falla hates herself, even after killing her dark side and becoming whole again, she hates knowing what she did to you and feels that pain everyday." he said shaking his head a bit. Complica looked at him with remorse then up.

"And your other sister, Luna, the one who was always so caring to you before, how do you imagine she took your death, or even deals with it now?" Ceal asked.

"I…but…" Complica said shakily. She shook her head and looked down as she choked back her sob.

"I didn't mean…to hurt everybody. I just…I just wanted to see my love again." she said trembling a bit. She broke down crying and hugged the boy around the waist to his side, the girl sobbing out of guilt and sorrow as Ceal looked down at her with a bit of remorse. After a pause he slowly held his normal hand on her head gently as she cried.

"I didn't want to hurt them, really." Complica sobbed as she held onto the boy. He looked at the angel as she cried into his side. She never once stopped to think about how her actions would affect her family, the girl only fixated on seeing the boy she fell in love with again however she could. Even up in heaven the parents didn't bring up the matter, since even if she didn't do what she did she would have been annihilated by The Ender spell being cast, yet they still felt bad that their daughter had died so early in her life.

"I know you didn't, you're a good soul. You being brought into heaven is proof of that alone." Ceal said softly. The girl looked up to him as a few tears were still flowing down her face.

"Whenever you do see Falla again you need to tell her the truth. Hearing it from me wouldn't be as effective as it would be coming from you. Let her know that she isn't responsible for your death Complica, remove that weight off of her heart." He said gently. The girl slowly nodded and looked at the boy with a bit of wonder.

"Do you love my sister?" she asked softly. Ceal looked at the girl for a moment as he held Arial in his arms, the snow girl groaning softly as was still in a daze. He imagined Falla's smile and laugh, the way the chronofly always followed him around and looked at him with adoring eyes. How he healed her mind and body, and kept her alive through her nightmare in the human world.

"Ceal? Do you?" Complica asked softly. He remembered to when the chronofly told him that she loved him before he left, how the girl couldn't wait to express her love to him after all he did for her and her friends. After a pause he nodded.

"I do." he said softly. There was no denying it, as much as he had tried to remain in control of his feelings he couldn't argue with it any longer. He felt the same way about her that she did about him. The boy glanced away as Complica looked at him with wonder. She smiled softly and stepped back from him.

"You'll take care of her…right?" she asked hopefully. He looked back to her as a few soldiers ran toward them from around a corner, the men yelling and aiming their rifles at the monsters. Ceal's reptilian hand glowed a black hue as dark tentacles whipped out from the walls around the humans, the men being ensnared as Ceal had a focused expression. The humans were ripped apart and thrown around into bloody pieces by the dark limbs, the remains splattering around the corridor walls and ceiling as the chronofly looked over to them with surprise.

"I will not let anybody harm her Complica." He said with a cold tone. The girl looked back at him, the chronofly looking into his blue eyes as he stood there before her.

"Whoever is responsible for this mess, and for your other sister's captivity, will pay dearly." He said firmly. She looked at him with wonder then smiled a bit.

"Thank you, thank you Ceal." she said softly. She looked back down the hallway where they came from then to the boy again.

"You and the others are going to save my sister, right?" she asked hopefully. He nodded as the splattered remains of the soldiers up ahead dripped down from the walls and ceiling.

"I promise Complica, we'll save her. First we need to get you and this snow angel back to heaven where you are safe, then we'll take care of the monster responsible for all this." He said assuredly.

"Really? You can really do all that?" she asked hopefully.

"There's nothing that can stop us." Ceal said with a slight smirk.

Suddenly the whole hallway rumbled and shook violently as a loud roar echoed down the hall. Ceal and Complica looked back to where they came from as the building shook a bit.

"What…was that?" Complica asked nervously.

"Something that's going to try to stop us I imagine." Ceal said narrowing his eyes.

* * *

Inside the empty chamber where the holding atrium was beneath the group was looking around with surprise as the entire building seemed to shake violently along with a loud roar that came from below them.

"What was that?" Razico said as he and Ruby looked towards the opening in the steel floor.

"Just out of curiosity, was there something else down there with you guys?" Render asked glancing to Moka. The vampire looked at him worriedly then towards the breach in the ground.

"Nothing that was that big." she said backing up a bit.

"Where's Gabriel and Dark? Why didn't they follow us?" Rason said as he was holding the unconscious Kurumu in his arms, the angel backing up as well.

"They were right behind us I thought." Astreal said as she and Apoch looked around nervously.

"Dark's still down there?" Mizore cried out as she and Leon stumbled a bit after another wild tremor, with the mimic mage helping her stand again.

"If they are they're not alone." Leon said as he helped the snow maiden back up a bit.

"We need to go help them." Ahakon said as he helped Yukari stand again, the two then stumbling back as the ground below them rumbled wildly. Ran helped them stand again and looked around nervously.

"What's going on?" she cried out as the walls around the area started to crack slightly from the stress. Sun stumbled back a bit and was caught by Fang Fang, the boy looking around worriedly.

"Should we perhaps get out of here while we can?" he asked nervously.

"We're not leaving Dark and Gabriel down there." Kokoa said looking to the hole in the ground. She stumbled back before Gin caught her, the wolf looking around quickly at the ground as it started to creak and groan.

"Just what was down there with you guys anyway?" he shouted out.

"There wasn't anything big down there at all, there were just other monsters that were trying to escape, nothing that could do this." Moka said worriedly.

"Well something's trying to bust out of there." Render said as the group backed away from the breach in the ground as a loud roar echoed out from below. From the hole in the ground Gabriel shot up into the air holding Dark, the angel flying up and then over to the group quickly.

"Gabriel, Dark! Are you ok?" Rason called out.

"What's going on down there?" Moka asked as the ground around the breach started to bend up, the steel creaking and bending up as a large banging sound was heard below. Dark and Gabriel touched down and ran over to the group.

"Get back! Get back now!" Gabriel cried out as they looked back towards the disturbance, the group watching the steel ground blasting up and tearing apart as a feral roar echoed out.

"What the hell is that?" Gin cried out. The steel ground ripped apart as a giant figure crashed through the barrier. The group watched as the monster shot up into the air and clung to the wall of the chamber. It was massive in size, the beast having ridged black scales that had a slight greenish shimmer to them. It held onto the wall with its four large claws, the beast's long tail whipping around behind it. It had large wings that extended out slightly, the appendages having dark and gray scales. It had a reptilian head with three horns sticking back from its forehead, the monster's red eyes looking around as its large mouth showed razor sharp teeth inside. The monster crawled around on the wall then turned around, the dark beast looking down at the group who stared with wide eyes.

"What is that thing?" Ruby cried out as the large beast growled at them with smoke coming from its mouth.

"No…it can't be…" Ran said as she backed up. The group glanced to her as she shakily pointed towards the large creature.

"That monster…it's from the dark world." she said with fear.

"What?" Moka said looking back to the monster.

"It's from my master's world, I've seen them before. He keeps those things as his pets." the siren said with fright.

"That thing is your old master's pet?" Rason said with wide eyes.

"That's no pet…" Fang Fang said as he watched the monster roar at them. The group tensed up and got into defensive positions as Ran stared at the beast with fear, the siren knowing full well what it really was. She shook her head and screamed out in terror.

"It's…a dragon!"


	6. Reunited

Down a hallway inside the HDA command center two human soldiers were running with a quickened pace, the two men armed with rifles that were held at the ready as sirens and roars echoed out down the corridors. Up ahead gunfire shot out from an intersection as a winged scaled beast was pelted with bullets before tumbling down next to a large gray skinned brute with large demonic wings. The two monsters were shot dead as the humans ran over to see other HDA soldiers down the nearby hallway junction firing at other monsters, the beasts and creatures being torn up by the bullets from four other armed personal.

"This is crazy, they're everywhere now." one of the two men said before they continued down the hallway while their comrades kept firing at other monsters running towards them from down their corridor. Up ahead a soldier was thrown from an adjacent hallway as an explosion echoed out, with dust and debris shooting from the corridor as the two humans readied their rifles. From the smoke a large ogre with bony wings and an armored plated brute that had its wings shot off already charged through with feral roars. The soldiers opened fired as they stopped and aimed at the two monsters, the bullets flying down the hallway at the rampaging creatures. The ogre was pelted all over the chest and head, with the eye bursting apart before the beast dropped dead. The brute roared as a few bullets cracked and splintered his plated skin before he ran up and smashed his fist down on one of the soldiers, the human being crushed into the ground while his comrade aimed his rifle point blank at the head of the large monster. Blood and bone splattered out of his skull as the beast tumbled to the side while the remaining human showed frustration and fright at the sight of his comrade having been reduced to a bloody smear next to him.

"God damn…fucking monsters!" he yelled before he ran down the hallway once again. He raced down the hall as more roars and explosions were heard all around as many monsters had managed to flee their containment and start an uproar inside the building.

The soldier ran through the hallway and stopped at an office door, the man quickly barging through with urgency.

"Mr. Rythmore, we need to evacuate. They're breaking free, the monsters are breaking free from the building." he said quickly. Inside the office room Jenner was seated at his desk looking at the computer screen with frustration, the man tapping his finger on his desk impatiently as he bared his teeth slightly.

"I want to know how the hell these damned things managed to get out, that holding sector was supposed to have been completely sealed off and blown into subatomic ash!" he yelled out.

"We don't know sir, there was a problem in one of the engine rooms for the security gates, the detonation sequence for the bomb never got started." the soldier said shaking his head.

"A problem in one of the engine rooms? For fuck's sake, don't tell me that's because of those other intruders that were reported, why haven't they been dealt with yet?" Jenner said banging his fist down on his desk.

"The one's that broke in were indeed monsters as well, we couldn't stop them before damage to the engine room occurred. We're sending in a repair team to the affected sector to see if repairs-" the soldier started before Jenner yelled out while grabbing his hair in anger.

"Dammit we're the HDA, monster containment and control are what we're paid for you idiot! Forget the damned repairs, send all available personal to deal with anything that's crawling around above ground. I'll just start the bomb sequence myself from here." he said with frustration.

"But sir, the lower sector isn't fully sealed, if the gates have been compromised then the whole command center could be in danger of being blown sky high." the soldier said worriedly.

"The whole command center is swarming with these monstrosities because you idiots couldn't keep a few stragglers from going more than two feet into our headquarters. We cannot allow a single monster to escape into the human world, I will not allow it. Have all your men kill what's above ground, use any and all hardware available. Get this situation under control now!" Jenner yelled out.

Before the soldier could say anything the building shook as a deafening roar echoed out through the area. The soldier looked around down the hall then back to Jenner with surprise.

"What…what was that?" he said with worry. Jenner growled then looked to his monitor, the screen showing red danger circles all over the building. Near the lowered atrium a flashing exclamation point was seen.

"Whatever it is, kill it. Do you hear me? I don't care if this building has to be leveled to the ground in doing so, you use any means you have to in order to kill these things." Jenner said sternly. The soldier nodded then grabbed his radio, the man calling all squads to use any and all resources to kill whatever was outside the holding area. As he did Jenner watched the screen carefully as another large roar was heard inside the building. The images on the monitor flashed through several areas inside the building showing firefights and monsters running on a rampage while other areas only showed static and no audio.

"I will not allow these things to ruin our world, I simply will not allow it." he said firmly.

The soldier put his radio back on his hip then looked to Jenner as he armed his rifle.

"All available personal are working to deal with the monsters running free now, however I feel we should get you out of here and to a safer location sir." he said with a nod.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going to flee like their cowardly kind does in a crisis. As head of the HDA I'll face whatever comes to the very end, and you can be damned sure that I won't allow a single one of those monstrosities to run free as long as I'm still in charge." Jenner said typing a few keys into his system.

"Then sir, requesting permission to remain here as your guard, I can't let you stay here unarmed and vulnerable while these things are running free." the soldier said with a salute. Jenner glanced to him and shook his head.

"That won't be necessary, I can handle myself just fine. Take your gun and go help the others deal with these pests quickly. If any monsters dare show their faces here I'll deal with them myself." he said firmly. The soldier nodded as he readied his rifle, then was quickly ensnared by a few dark tentacles that came up from rifts on the ground. Jenner watched with surprise as the soldier yelled out before being ripped to pieces and flung to opposite sides of the room in bloody chunks. From the doorway a boy walked in carrying a snow angel in his arms while a young butterfly monster walked in behind him while holding a baseball bat in her hands. Jenner stood up quickly as the dark tentacles around the boy slowly vanished while he looked at the man with a cold stare.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Ceal asked as Arial stirred a bit in his arms.

"You…you're one of those things." Jenner said with a growl as he glared at the kid. He reached towards his desk drawer before a dark tentacle came from the ceiling and whipped down, the limb grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him up slightly. Jenner coughed and thrashed around before two more limbs dropped from above and grabbed his arms, the dark appendages then holding him up while he looked at the catalyst mage with frustration.

"So, you'll deal with me yourself huh? And just how did you plan on doing that?" Ceal asked with a slightly amused tone.

"Why are we here Ceal? We need to get to the roof, Gabriel's going to be meeting us there remember?" Complica asked worriedly as she looked around at the remains of the HDA soldier she saw get torn apart a moment ago.

"Just thought we'd stop in to say hi to the man responsible for all this." Ceal said with a cold glare. Arial slowly opened her eyes as Complica looked to Jenner with worry.

"Dark?" Arial said softly as her vision came into focus. She blinked then saw Ceal carrying her, the girl slowly looking around with weary eyes.

"What happened? Where am I?" she asked.

"Arial, you're ok!" Complica said with relief as she saw her friend waking up. Ceal gently set the girl down as Jenner watched them with frustration while being held up in the air by the boy's necro magic. Arial looked around quickly then to Ceal.

"Where's Dark? And the others? And…who's he?" Arial said looking back to Jenner.

"I saw the signs on the way here, office of Jenner Rythmore, head of the HDA. I remember that name from the news reports, you're the one that declared war on monsters on behalf of humanity." Ceal said with a tone of annoyance. The two angel children looked to the human with surprise as he growled at them.

"What? Wait…that's right. You were on T.V., you're the one that gave the order to execute my husband!" Arial yelled out with anger. Jenner glanced to her with a bewildered expression then looked back to Ceal with anger as the boy slowly walked up towards him.

"Yes, I remember you now. You were the one blaming us for all the misfortune upon one of your cities. You were the one that accused us of being spies and traitors to humanity. You were the one that captured our kind to be executed. And I'm willing to bet that it was you that made the call to shoot those two witches outside my school." Ceal said coldly.

"You won't get me to beg you fucking monster, I'm not scared of you or your kind. The HDA is going to exterminate every last one of you filthy breeds." Jenner spat out.

"This is all your doing? Why? Why are you trying to start a war with our kind?" Complica said shaking her head.

"Don't give me that crap monster, you attacked us! You killed and slaughtered our people and ravaged our cities! Even when my people were so foolish to trust you, to allow you to come to our world, you tried to kill us anyway! You started this war, and now we're going to finish it!" Jenner yelled out.

"That's not true, my husband and his friends saved all of you, they're heroes!" Arial shouted out. Ceal glanced to the angel then back to Jenner with a cold stare.

"This girl speaks the truth human, our kind did want peace with you until you tried to kill us. Those cities that fell under attack were done by monsters yes, and they were saved _by_ monsters as well. The one's you attacked were your allies, the one's that protected you from the real dark monsters of the world." he said as Jenner glared at him.

"Of course, how could I have been so foolish to think that the monsters in this building who are killing my men would be the enemy? Spare me the bullshit monster, I've already had to watch as my misguided government bought that crap, but I will not make that same mistake." Jenner said sternly.

"You're making a different mistake human, one that could cost the lives of many of your kind. You're making enemies with the wrong monsters." Ceal said coldly.

"You're all the same, every last one of you. You lie, you kill, you slink around in our world pretending to be allies when actually you're only trying to get closer to us to do away with us. You had your chance for peace, even against my deepest wishes our kind gave you a chance to coexist. And what do we get? A school and a city are thrown into chaos!" Jenner shouted out. Ceal looked at the man for a moment then glanced to the glass window behind him.

"Lie and kill." he said as he walked over to the glass. Jenner watched him with a glare as the boy shook his head.

"You speak as if humanity is any different. You speak as if no humans commit any crimes or are hostile to their own kind. You speak as if all of your kind are as pure as angels themselves." he said simply. Jenner looked at him cautiously as the boy glanced to him, the mage snapping his fingers causing the tentacles to vanish and drop the man down onto the ground with a thud. Jenner scrambled back to his feet as Ceal just watched him with his blue eyes.

"I could kill you, it would be easier than killing an ant." he said simply. Jenner looked at him with a careful eye as Arial and Complica watched the man cautiously.

"Even those two kids over there could kill you easily enough, and one of them has more than enough of a reason seeing as how you were going to execute somebody precious to her." Ceal said with a shrug. Jenner glanced over to Arial as the girl growled loudly at him.

"To me, your life has no value. You're just another human that thinks he's above monsters, simply because he's human." Ceal said calmly. Jenner looked back to him cautiously as the boy shook his head.

"However, my life should have value to you human, just as the others that you've kept locked away here." the boy said looking out the window.

"And why would that be?" Jenner said with discontent.

"Because we're the ones that can stop the real monsters in this world from killing everybody." Ceal said simply.

"Oh really? And just what 'real monsters' are you talking about?" Jenner said with annoyance.

The building shook violently as a large crashing sound was heard below them, with Jenner and the two girls looking out the window as the side of the building below them blasted apart with a deafening roar. From the debris and smoke a large figure flew out, the massive beast extending its wings out and flying up over the courtyard of the complex. Down below human soldiers and nearby humans in the city watched with wide eyes as the dark scaled dragon roared out into the air. The massive beast flew down and landed on the ground, with its legs crushing in two trucks causing them to explode under its feet. Gunfire echoed out as bullets bounced right off the scales of the dragon before the monster let loose a powerful fire stream from its mouth, the torrent of searing flames striking a smaller building next to the main complex and blasting in into an inferno.

"That would be one of them now." Ceal said as he saw the monster slowly moving around outside. He shook his head a bit as he recognized what it was.

_However, how the hell did that thing get here is a better question._

"What…is that?" Arial cried out as the two girls ran over to the glass.

"A dragon." Ceal said with narrowed eyes.

"Dragon?" Complica cried out.

"What is this? Another one of your attack dogs?" Jenner asked with discontent.

"You're mistaken human." Ceal said glancing to him. Jenner looked to the boy as the mage shook his head.

"In the monster world, these things are not our allies. They are just as dangerous to us as they are to you." he said. Jenner looked at the boy cautiously then outside as the giant dragon roared out into the air as its wings spread out. Several rockets were fired from nearby in the courtyard and slammed into the body of the beast, the explosions only budging it a bit as the dragon let loose a torrent of flame around it. The entire courtyard burst into a firestorm as HDA soldiers were incinerated instantly while vehicles were melted into disfigured heaps of metal.

"Dragons follow nobody's rule or command, they are true monsters of power and destruction. Even our dark lords are cautious in their presence, as they are far stronger than legends give them credit for." Ceal said crossing his arms before him.

"What's it doing here? How did it get here?" Arial said shaking her head.

"What do you mean how did it get here? Isn't that just one of your kind that we detained in our world now running amok?" Jenner asked glancing to the angel.

"Dragons can't conceal their form, they can't blend in to your world. Not like they would ever desire to do so, as they are more like wild animals than sentient monsters." Ceal said shaking his head.

"But…how did it get here then?" Jenner said with anger looking back to the giant beast.

"I don't know human, but I do know that it's going to be a real problem for both of us." Ceal said with a tone of annoyance. Jenner growled then reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a handgun, the man then aiming it at Ceal as the boy merely glanced to him.

"I'm not going to fall for your tricks monster, this is all your doing. Like hell that thing isn't on your side, it's just like that Alucard thing you let loose in our world! You won't fool us into thinking we need your help to survive, we don't need anything from you!" he shouted out. Ceal raised an eyebrow then glanced down to the courtyard.

"Like I said human, your life has no value to me. I don't advise acting so foolishly when all that's driving you is fear." he said.

"Fear? _Fear_? You think I'm afraid of you or your dragons? You think the human race will cower to monsters when we are the rightful owners of this world?" Jenner yelled out as he aimed the gun at Ceal's head. Arial and Complica looked to him with worry as the dragon outside roared again.

"No no, we're not afraid of you monster. We're not going to let you take our world, you or these supposed other's that are your enemies. You're all the same to us, you're all the ants in this world that we're going to be rid of. This is our world! And nobody is going to take it from us!" Jenner shouted. Ceal paused then shrugged a bit.

"What was it that you said…" he said softly. Jenner looked at him carefully as the boy nodded.

"Ah yes, I believe it was 'we gave you a chance for peace'." he said, the boy's reptilian hand then glowing black as dark limbs whipped up from the ground. They grabbed Jenner's arms and legs, the man being yanked into the air as his gun fired and shattered the window with a stray bullet. The gun dropped out of his grip as Arial and Complica looked up at the bound human with surprise. Ceal glanced to him then down to the dragon.

"I gave you a chance human, that's far more than what it's going to do." he said before the limbs flung the human out the window. Arial and Complica watched the human scream as he tumbled down through the air towards the courtyard. The dragon down below looked up at the falling human as people all around watched the figure drop towards the ground. The large beast roared then snapped its jaws up, the monster catching Jenner in its mouth with its razor sharp teeth. A blood spray shot out the side of the mouth before the monster snapped its jaws again and devoured the human. Ceal looked at the monster with discontent as Arial and Complica watched with wide eyes.

"You…fed him to it." Arial said softly.

"Well…he did give him a chance for peace." Complica said quietly. Ceal nodded once then narrowed his eyes at the beast.

_Feeding a dragon isn't necessarily something I should feel good about, however I think this time I'll make an exception._

The dragon roared then fired a torrent of fire back into the building from where it came from, with human all around screaming while on fire while some were still trying to shoot it.

"We need to get to Dark now, he needs me!" Arial cried out a she turned to run out of the office. Ceal quickly grabbed her hand and yanked her back.

"You're not going near that thing angel." he said simply.

"Let me go, Dark needs me, I can't let that thing eat my husband!" Arial yelled as she tried to yank her hand free.

"Arial you can't go near that dragon, you'll be incinerated for sure!" Complica cried out. Arial shook her head then looked to the girl with desperation.

"Then you kill it, use your time magic! Hurry!" she pleaded. Complica gulped and looked down from the window as she held her bat in her hands.

"Neither of you are going near it." Ceal said looking down to the dragon.

"Why not? Complica can take care of it for sure, right Complica?" Arial said quickly. Complica blinked then trembled a bit.

"Um…well…" she said unsurely. She knew if her magic could be controlled properly she likely could take down the large monster, however given that her magic was always unstable and that it was a dragon her frightened eyes were seeing the girl felt her legs wobble a bit.

"You both are going to wait on the roof for that angel to take you to heaven. I will not allow Falla's sister to go near a dragon while I'm here, and you snow angel will cause even more problems if you are seen by the others." Ceal said as he lifted the snow girl up by the back of her collar. The girl kicked and thrashed around as Complica looked down with fear.

"What's that supposed to mean? Put me down, let me go this instant! Do you have any idea who I'm married to? Do you?" Arial yelled out with frustration. Complica looked at the dragon with worry then to Ceal as the boy had a dull expression on his face as he watched the snow girl kick and scream in the air.

"I don't have time for this." Ceal said simply as his reptilian hand glowed black. Arial yelled and kicked around then looked down as multiple black tentacles came from the ground around her. She blinked then slowly looked to Ceal as Complica watched with worry.

"What are you doing?" Complica asked nervously as the ground below the snow angel seemed to shift into darkness. The snow angel glanced down to the rift then to the boy as he narrowed his eyes a bit.

"If you're not going to behave then I'm going to have to put you in a time out kid." he said with a slight commanding tone.

"Time…out?" Arial asked quietly.

* * *

Down in the empty chamber above the lowered atrium a few figures were slowly getting up as large chunks of debris were lying around on the metal gate that was the floor. Near them a large hole was seen as the dragon had crashed through it out into the open area outside. Part of the metal ground near the group was bent upward and melting slightly showing a dark hole down into the lowered atrium that the dragon had somehow appeared in. All around the walls and ground flames were flaring around as the dragon roared outside, along with a scorched trail of metal and debris that went from the opening to the dragon towards the other side of the chamber where the fire stream had flow by and demolished the side of the chamber with superheated flames.

"Dammit, is everybody ok?" Razico called out as he helped Ruby stand up, the witch looking at the dragon with wide eyes still as her jaw was lowered. They had just jumped to the side of the fiery blast, with the witch's dress being singed on the end slightly from the heat wave flying past her. Nearby Apoch and Astreal lowered their hands as their shields dissolved, the two girls looking back to Render, Leon, Gabriel, and Rason who was holding the sleeping Kurumu in his arms still.

"Yes, I believe we are." Apoch said with relief. Render looked around at the scorch marks on the ground around them then to the girl with a smile, the group standing on a patch of ground that wasn't blackened as the girl's shields had deflected the flames around them.

"You really are something." he said with a nod. The girl smiled a bit and blushed as Astreal looked up with worry. Flying above the group Sun was carrying Fang Fang while Ran was holding onto Yukari and Ahakon.

"Wow that was close." Ran said shakily as she looked to the wall on the other side of the opening showing the melting steel and concrete from the fire stream that just flew under them.

"Indeed, thank you very much miss." Fang Fang said looking to Sun, the siren flapping her wings to keep them airborne while looking at the dragon with wide eyes. She just slowly nodded as she watched the dragon roar outside the building.

Moka coughed a bit and slowly got up as Gin pushed off a bit of broken debris and slowly got up, the boy in his human form as he shook his head a bit.

"Damn, Moka, are you ok?" he said as he ran over and helped the vampire stand up again. The girl nodded a bit as she coughed.

"Yeah, that was too close. Kokoa? Kokoa are you alright?" she asked looking around. She blinked then saw Kokoa standing there naked, the girl's hair flowing loose behind her as her bows were gone. Everybody looked to her as the vampire looked around with an embarrassed expression.

"Um…Gin?" she asked nervously. The wolf jumped a bit and then quickly took off his green school jacket, then handed it to her before she quickly grabbed it and slipped it on.

"Um…what happened to her?" Leon asked with a bewildered expression.

"Ms. Kokoa's immune to fire." Apoch said softly.

"Yes, but her clothing is not." Astreal said with a weak smile. Kokoa buttoned up the jacket and looked around nervously, the jacket just covering her thighs and rear.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get around it in time." she said with a weak smile.

"Good thing she is immune otherwise she would have been incinerated." Rason said with relief.

"She's immune to fire? Wow, didn't think vampires had that kind of power." Render said curiously.

"They don't, Kokoa's one of a kind in that way." Yukari said as she and Ahakon were flown down by Ran, the siren setting them down as Sun and Fang Fang landed next to them. Sun looked at the redhead curiously then to Gin with a raised eyebrow. The boy chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a small smile.

"Wait, where's Dark? And Mizore?" Gabriel said looking around. The group looked around quickly as the silent couple was nowhere to be seen.

"Dark? Tell me you got Mizore away from that. Dark?" Ruby called out looking around. There was no sign of the shadow demon or snow girl anywhere in the chamber.

"Where are they? Did…did they get…" Ahakon said shakily as he looked to the massive scorch mark and melting steel that was near the wall of the chamber, the area having been hit hard by the dragon's fiery breath.

"No…tell me they didn't get caught in that." Moka said shaking her head with a bit of fear.

"Dark? Mizore?" Yukari called out fearfully.

"Mizore wouldn't have been able to survive that hit at all, she would have been vaporized instantly." Kokoa said with a frightful expression.

"No…no!" Rason cried out looking around quickly. Outside the dragon roared as more rockets hit it from the sides, the beast blowing fire all around it as the group looked to it with wide eyes. The massive monster then looked back to the group as the surrounding courtyard and sides of the building were burning wildly, with vehicles and HDA personal being burnt to ash all around the creature.

"Oh no, that thing incinerated them!" Yukari cried out gripping her hat.

"No, there's no way. Dark…Mizore…" Moka said looking around while holding her hand over her mouth.

"Oh man…not like that." Render said looking at the melting wall of steel and concrete.

"No…this can't be happening…" Apoch said as her eyes started to water.

"I'm sorry." Fang Fang said looking down with remorse. Sun looked at the scorched wall with worry then down as well. The dragon roared out and started walking towards the group, all of them then looking to the monster with anger and frustration.

"No…NO!" Yukari yelled as she aimed her wand towards it. Ruby aimed her wand as it glowed a bright purple while Ahakon and Razico aimed their hands towards the beast. Astreal aimed her hand as a red light swirled around her arm towards her palm, with Leon mimicking the magic as he took aim as well. All of them fired out their magical attacks towards the dragon, with all the projectiles striking the head of the dragon and exploding into a bright flash. The group stepped back as the light faded to show the dragon roaring at them while smoke billowed away from its mouth.

"No…dammit not even a scratch." Ruby said with worry.

"We can't kill a dragon, they're beyond S-Class." Gin said shaking his head.

"As much as I would love a good fight, I gotta agree with him. We can't fight a dragon, its suicide." Render said with worry.

"What's it even doing here? And how, it wasn't down below with us before." Yukari said as she looked at the dragon with fright. The large beast roared then lunged forward, the group darting back as the dragon reached out and grabbed Sun with one of its claws. The siren thrashed around as the beast stepped back a bit and held her up towards its head, the girl looking with wide eyes of fright at it as it held her in her grip.

"Sun!" Gin yelled out. The dragon backed up out of the chamber then looked to the group as its mouth glowed red, the monster leaning back a bit as fire built up in its mouth as its jaws opened a bit.

"It's going to fire again!" Kokoa yelled out.

"Me first." Dark's voice came from next to her, the group then watching as a rocket fired out of thin air between them towards the dragon. The missile flew past Sun and raced into the mouth of the beast, the projectile then detonating causing the dragon to howl and stumble back a bit while flames and smoke flew out of its mouth to the sides. It held onto Sun with its claw as Dark reappeared near the group, the boy dropping the spent launcher as he glared at the dragon.

"Dark! You're alive!" Moka cried out.

"You're ok, but…where's Mizore?" Ruby said looking around. Dark looked back towards the broken door leading into the chamber, the group looking to see Mizore peeking out from behind it.

"Why would I want her to be anywhere near a fire breathing dragon? I got her out of here as soon as the dragon crashed through the wall out of this place." Dark said simply.

"She's ok, you're both ok." Kokoa said with great relief.

"Geez you had us scared there." Rason said shaking his head.

"That's great they're alive and all, but what about Sun?" Gin cried out as the group looked back to the dragon as it held the siren in its grip.

"Sucks to be her." Kokoa said with careless shrug.

"Kokoa!" Gin yelled out. The vampire glanced to him then back to the siren with a dull glare. The dragon shook his head slightly with a growl then geared back as fire built up in its mouth again.

"It's going to try that again." Moka said as the group backed up a bit. Mizore watched with worry as her fiancé was standing with the group while the dragon prepared to lay waste to the entire area with its fiery breath. The dragon built up its fire inside its mouth as the group tensed up, the beast holding Sun in its grip as the siren looked back to the group with fear. Before the dragon could fire Ceal dropped down from above onto the nose of the beast, the boy jerking the head of the dragon down a bit as its mouth closed. Flames and smoke blasted out the sides of its mouth and the monster recoiled as the boy jumped off towards the claw that held the surprised siren. Ceal landed down and grabbed the girl as the claw released them, the boy then landing down and catching the siren as the group watched with surprise.

"Who's that?" Moka said as Ceal ran over to the group, the boy then looking back to the dragon as he set Sun down. The siren looked at him with wonder as the dragon roared while smoke and flames came from its mouth. After a pause Ceal glanced to Gabriel.

"Angel. Get up to the top floor outside. Those two are waiting for you." he said simply.

"Who is this guy?" Yukari said with wonder. Rason looked at him with surprise then to Gabriel, the redheaded angel looking up then back to Ceal.

"Um…right. Ok." he said as he started to run out. He took two steps before Rason shook his head then called out to him.

"Wait, what's going on Gabriel, just who is this guy?" he said looking to Ceal.

"Ceal Erres." Fang Fang said with a nervous smile. Ceal looked over to the boy then narrowed his eyes.

"You're still alive?" he said with a bit of anger. Fang Fang chuckled a bit while rubbing the back of his head then slowly stepped behind Gin, then peeked out again with a bit of fear.

"Um…it's nice to see you again friend." he said with a worried smile. Ceal growled a bit then looked back out to the dragon as it stopped roaring and looked back to the group with its red eyes.

"Angel, get up there now. I can't use my magic in two places at once, and I need it to deal with this pest." he said firmly.

"What's going on, what's he talking about?" Rason asked looking to his friend. Gabriel looked around nervously then up.

"Um…I'll explain later Rason, I promise." He said before he started running again, the angel extending out his wings then flying up out the opening. The dragon looked up to him as it roared again, the angel looking down to it with worry before flying up as fast as he could. Ceal watched him go then looked to Fang Fang.

"I should feed you to the dragon before I kill it." he said with discontent. Fang Fang jumped a bit and waved his hand around nervously as the group looked to him curiously.

"Wait, let's not be rash. You can't be mad at me for what my family did, I had no say in the matter. Really, I'm innocent." he pleaded.

"Ceal, you can murder him later. But for now, how about we see some of that dragon slaying you were bragging about earlier." Leon said cautiously as he watched the dragon roar at them.

"Dragon slaying?" Rason said as he held Kurumu in his arms still.

"Ceal's a dragon slayer, or at least that's what he claims." Ruby said as she and Razico backed up worriedly.

"He's a what?" Moka said looking to Ceal with surprise.

"Are you insane? How's he going to kill a dragon?" Yukari cried out.

"I'm very interested in seeing that as well, like right now. Seriously, do something man." Render said as the large beast started moving towards them while smoke came from its mouth. Ceal looked back to the dragon then up.

"Move it angel, I need my magic now." he said with a tone of frustration.

* * *

Gabriel flew up towards a broken window at the top floor, the boy landing down inside to seeing Complica there looking at something with worry. Next to her a few black tentacles were holding a screaming snow angel in their grip, with her arms, legs, and body ensnared and kept suspended above the ground. She yelled and thrashed around as Complica watched with a worried expression. Gabriel looked at Arial for a moment then shrugged.

"I suppose I can understand why he did that." he said simply.

"Get me down now! Let me go, I need to get to my husband before it's too late! Dammit get these things off of me now Complica, what are you waiting for? Do something already!" Arial screamed as she tried to free herself from the dark limbs that held her in the air. Complica looked to Gabriel with worry then ran up to him.

"Hurry Gabriel, Ceal said for you to pull on that one when you got up here." she said pointing to a lone tentacle that was swaying around slowly near the angel. Gabriel nodded then yanked on the limb, the appendage and all the others then letting go of the bound snow angel and vanishing into the ground. Arial dropped to the floor as Gabriel watched all the dark rifts vanish, the angel then looking back down to the dragon as it slowly moved towards the hole in the building below.

"I hope Ceal really is what he says he is." he said worriedly. Arial scrambled to her feet before Gabriel grabbed her hand, the snow angel looking up to him with frustration as he had a stern expression.

"Let me go Gabriel, I'm not leaving without my husband!" she yelled out.

"Yes you are or so help me Arial you will answer directly to the Almighty himself for this!" Gabriel yelled out. Arial blinked and looked up nervously as Complica trembled a bit.

"You…you can't tattle on me." Arial whined as she looked back to Gabriel.

"You two are under my care while you're dead, and as such I sure as hell can inform the Almighty of just what you've been doing down here Arial. I'm not in any mood to hear more of this nonsense, I need to get you two back to heaven now and get back to help the others." Gabriel said looking up to the sky. Complica nodded as her wings fluttered a bit.

"No…but…Dark!" Arial cried out shaking her head.

"We need to go Arial, that dragon will kill you for sure if you don't go." Complica said worriedly.

"Just kill it with your time magic! What are you waiting for, you can do it no problem!" Arial cried out. Complica looked down with fear, the chronofly knowing that she likely could if she could keep focused, however facing a dragon was making her shake with fear as she was scared to death of it.

"It's not her job to lay her soul on the line like that Arial, she shouldn't even be here just like you shouldn't be. You two are coming with me right now and that's final." Gabriel said taking off into the air while holding Arial's hand. Complica flew after them with a worried expression, the girl looking down to seeing the dragon down below as it slowly moved into the hole leading into the building.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry but…I'm not ready for this." she said with a few tears forming, the girl then looking up ahead as she prayed the others would be able to deal with the mighty beast.

* * *

Inside the chamber as the dragon growled loudly with smoke coming from its mouth the group backed up with caution as Ceal stood his ground, the boy watching the beast with a careful eye. The dragon started to move towards the opening as the group glanced to Ceal quickly then back to the large monster.

"C'mon man, you're the dragon slayer of the group, do something." Render said as he backed up with Apoch.

"I would love to, provided that angel hurries up." Ceal said glancing up to the ceiling the back to the dragon again.

Kurumu stirred a bit and slowly opened her eyes, the girl's vision coming into focus to seeing Rason watching something with fright.

"Rason?" she said softly. She blinked then looked over to seeing a large black scaled dragon moving towards the opening, the girl pausing for a moment then jumping with a scream.

"What is that?" she cried out as she dropped down to her feet.

"It's a dragon, and a big one too." Ahakon said shakily.

"Actually it's not that big, it's a youngling in fact. Then again obsidian dragons don't really grow much bigger than this." Ceal said calmly.

"That's a youngling? It's huge!" Yukari cried out.

"They are dragons witch, they tend to grow to a large size." Ceal said with a shrug.

"What's a dragon doing here?" Kurumu cried out as she and Rason backed up with the group, everybody watching the large monster with fear as Ceal remained standing still.

"A better question is what the hell is he going to do against it? All our magic and the HDA firing at it only pissed it off." Rason said looking to Ceal.

"Well Ceal? You said you were a dragon slayer didn't you? Well slay this one already, hurry!" Ruby cried out as she and Razico backed up. Ceal looked at the dragon then over to Sun with a careful eye.

"Tell me girl, why is it that this dragon seems fixated on you?" he asked. The group looked to Sun as she pointed to herself with a puzzled expression.

"Dragons don't take prisoners and yet it seemed to hold onto you all while its mouth was burning from the inside. Not to mention that this creature appeared out of nowhere as I would imagine it wasn't down in those holding cells with the others here all this time, and it isn't running wild around the area. It's staying here, near you." Ceal said. Sun looked around at the group then shrugged with a worried expression. Ceal glanced to the dragon then back to her.

"And even now it's only looking at you girl." he said with narrowed eyes. The group looked over to see the dragon growling as smoke came from its mouth, all while its head was facing the confused and frightened siren.

"Sun?" Gin asked worriedly as the group looked to her curiously. The siren looked to him and shook her head then turned back to watch the dragons mouth light up again. Ran looked at the girl cautiously then back to the dark beast she recognized from her old master's domain. The group backed up a step while Mizore watched with worry over by the broken doorway.

"You can interrogate her later about it, I'll gladly help you beat an answer out of her even, just please do something already!" Kokoa cried out. Ceal looked to the dragon then to his reptilian hand as it glowed a soft black hue.

"It's about time angel." he said simply as he flexed his hand a bit.

"Ceal? Seriously, do something!" Gin cried out as the dragon roared at them. Ceal waved his hand out as it glowed a black light.

"Xarai." he called out. The group looked to him as a ghostly groan came from the ground below him.

"My sword." he said as he narrowed his eyes at the dragon.

From the ground two dark tentacles came from a rift on the ground, the limbs holding a sword housed in a black and golden sheath. It rose up next to the boy's side while the group looked at it with surprise.

"What the heck is that?" Yukari cried out. Ceal reached out and grabbed the handle of the blade and yanked it out, the long sword sliding out of the sheath with a slight metallic ring. The blade was a well polished double edged long sword, the metal giving off a slight glimmer to it as Ceal held it with one hand.

"A sword? Dude, if all you wanted was a sword I could have given you one already. Seriously, I've got plenty." Render said with bewilderment. Ceal smirked and glanced to him.

"You may have quantity hunter, but not quality." he said simply.

"How are you going to kill this thing with a mere sword? Magic and rockets didn't do anything to it, what's a piece of metal going to do?" Moka said shaking her head.

"Just what are you anyway?" Ran said looking to Sun. The siren looked at her worriedly as Ran shook her head.

"Why is a dragon from my master's dark world coming here after you? What are you?" she said nervously. Sun blinked and glanced to the dragon, the large beast still keeping its eyes on her.

_I'm just a siren, why is this other world sending all these dark monsters after me like this?_

"Who cares, just throw her to the dragon and maybe it'll leave us alone." Kokoa said backing up a bit.

"We're not throwing Sun to the dragon." Gin said shaking his head. Kokoa glanced to him with a growl then looked back to the dragon.

"C'mon Ceal, do your job already and kill this thing." Razico said as he and Ruby tensed up.

The dragon geared back as it turned its head to look at Ceal, the group tensing up as fire and smoke built up inside the monster's mouth.

"Everybody run!" Leon called out as the dragon fired out a stream of flame towards the catalyst mage. The group watched the torrent fly towards the boy as he smirked a bit. He whipped his sword up then struck down, the blade making a sharp pitched bang as a wave of light flew out in front of him. The torrent of fire was split down the middle as the pulse of energy tore through it, the group then watching as the two streams of fire flew past Ceal and blasted into small firestorms behind him.

"Wha…how…" Ruby said with wide eyes.

Ceal clutched his blade with both hands then dashed towards the dragon with a cold glare, the boy running closer to it as the dragon roared at him. The mage swung off to the side with a powerful swipe, the blade sending out a slice of magical light that seared through the air and cut across one of the dragon's legs. The monster roared as it stumbled back outside of the hole in the wall while dark red blood came from the cut near its claw. Ceal whipped the blade to the other side and sent out another strange slice of light, the energy being dodged as the dragon jumped up into the air and started to flap its wings. It roared at the boy as he looked up to it, the mage holding his sword that glimmered with a soft glow. The dragon's mouth lit up again as the surrounding courtyard continued to burn with the flames of the beast's rampage.

"You won't get away from me." Ceal said with a cold glare as his arm electrified with black lightning. He spun his blade around to his side as the dark power arced around it, the boy then swinging it up towards the dragon causing a sear of light and dark energy to fly up in a wide arc. The wave of light sliced through the left wing of the dragon and carved it right off, the dragon howling as it spiraled down and crashed into the ground.

"What…the hell is that sword anyway?" Render said with wide eyes.

"What the hell is he?" Ahakon said shaking his head.

"A dragon slayer…he really is a dragon slayer." Razico said in wonder. Mizore slowly walked out from the doorway towards the group as she watched the sight with wonder.

The dragon got back up and roared as it flexed its remaining wing, the monster then blowing a stream of fire towards Ceal. The boy dodged and rolled to the side as the torrent of flame shot past and blasted into the wall of the building. Steel and concrete melted and burned away as the mage got back onto his feet while holding his blade down to the side. The boy geared back and swung his blade out, the blade creating a slice of magical energy that flew out and cut across the dragon's side. The monster roared and stumbled back as Ceal's arm electrified again with dark energy, the boy then swiping out into the air with his sword. The blade lashed out with a slice of light and dark energy, the wave arcing out and tearing through the remaining wing of the dragon. The wave sliced it right off with a clean cut, the dragon then roaring and thrashing around a bit as Ceal whipped his blade down to his side again.

"How can he damage that thing when all our power combined didn't do anything?" Ahakon said with amazement.

"It's his sword." Fang Fang said as he watched the catalyst mage closely.

"His sword?" Render asked glancing to him. Fang Fang nodded and watched as Ceal dodged to the side from another torrent of fire from the dragon.

"Yes, each family of dragon slayers has a unique method of fighting these beasts. From his family they use powerful enchanted swords, ones that were supposedly forged from the bones and scales of dragons themselves. His weapon is able to create energy waves with the dragon's essence fused into it, which gives it the power required to actually damage the dragon's body." He said as he watched the mage swipe out again with his sword, the small arc of energy slicing across the other front leg of the dragon as it roared at him.

"You and this slayer have met before?" Dark asked glancing to Fang Fang. The boy nodded and smiled nervously.

"Well, in a sense. I only saw him briefly as he was hired by my family to take care of a dragon problem we had. I learned all about how he and his family fought from my father." He said. He rubbed the back of his head and looked down worriedly.

"Unfortunately for Ceal here, my father refused to pay him as the dragon had already destroyed some valuable property of ours. It wasn't Ceal's fault, the dragon was slain in the process, however the monster was very destructive and unfortunately we lost a good amount of…family resources." He said nervously.

"Your father skipped out on paying a dragon slayer? That doesn't seem too wise." Ruby said shaking her head.

"I thought Ceal didn't care about gold or money, he never seemed to be concerned with that before." Leon said looking the catalyst mage. Fang Fang nodded and looked down worriedly.

"No, but to all slayers it's a matter of pride and honor. They expect payment in return for doing this great service, and rightfully so. Killing a dragon is no trivial matter for any monster, even the dark lords often seek these slayers to deal with these things. Their monster energy is immense and very dense, making them extremely durable and tough to kill even with the strongest weapons and magic. If Ceal hadn't killed that dragon we might have lost much more that day. By refusing payment we are nothing but thieves in their eyes, ones that used them and then discarded them when we got what we wanted." He said with a slight shudder.

"So he doesn't like you, that much I gathered earlier." Gin said with a nod.

"Oh if only it were just that, I'd say he rather hates me and my family. I gathered that much as after Ceal was refused payment he sort of…well…" Fang Fang said shakily. The group glanced to him as he gulped and looked back to the catalyst mage.

"He caused far more damage to our family investments than the dragon likely could have." he said weakly.

"You tried to rip off a dragon slayer, what did you think was going to happen?" Razico said shaking his head.

"My father thought a lone slayer wouldn't have been a match for our family guard. He was very well mistaken. Ceal…slaughtered everybody that stood in his way, his necro magic is far stronger than anybody thought at the time." Fang Fang said nervously.

"We've seen it in action, his pet's pretty rough." Leon said simply.

"Oh yes, I've seen it too friend. Up close and personal. However I managed to elude a gruesome death as I hid under a body of one of my family's guards, or at least what remained of him." Fang Fang said with remorse. The group looked at him for a moment then over to Ceal as the mage swiped down with his blade, the magical slice of energy carving a torrent of fire apart as he stood his ground against the dragon still.

"Eventually he was pushed back out of our land after he inflicted a great deal of damage to our home. My father has yet to offer any apology or payment to his family, and I'm afraid we're not exactly on good terms with dragon slayers anymore." Fang Fang said with regret.

"Just what exactly is your family involved with that can afford to employ a dragon slayer?" Moka asked glancing to him. Fang Fang smiled a bit and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that." he said simply.

"Alright, so he's going to kill you after he deals with this dragon because your father is a cheapskate. I guess it's good we at least know why he's going to tear you limb from limb before he does so." Render said with a shrug. Fang Fang jumped a bit and waved his hands around nervously.

"But I'm innocent, I never wanted to deny him his payment, really." he pleaded.

"Good luck convincing him of that, he's rather hard to deal with to be honest." Razico said simply.

"How come he hasn't been using that sword of his all this time? It seems like its extremely powerful, maybe more so than his necro magic." Leon asked curiously as Ceal swung his blade and unleashed another arc of magical light that sliced across the dragon's neck. The monster roared and spun around, the dragon swinging its tail towards the mage at high speed. Ceal spun his sword around then swiped down, the blade slicing right through the tail causing the end to tumble off while the dragon roared out into the sky.

"Because he can't." Fang Fang said shaking his head.

"What do you mean he can't? Look at him, he's actually taking on a dragon with it single handily, it's incredible." Yukari said with awe.

"I mean he can't young miss. It's against the laws of his people." Fang Fang said.

"Against his laws?" Mizore asked. Fang Fang nodded and watched as Ceal held his sword at the ready while the dragon turned to roar at him again.

"Yes, my father told me about these slayers and their ways. Their weapons are indeed powerful and are able to slay these beasts, however they are only forged for that purpose. It is against his laws to use that blade to spill any blood other than a dragon's. Even if he so desired it, even if his life depended on it, he is prohibited from using that sword against anything else." he said assuredly.

"He can only use it against a dragon." Ruby said softly.

"Correct. Dragon slayers have a high code of honor and pride, and Ceal is no exception. No matter what may happen he will never turn that blade against anything other than a dragon. He never once drew it against my family in his anger, even though if he had done so he likely could have killed us all. That's why my father assumed he could have dealt with a lone slayer, he assumed that Ceal would be no match for our people if he couldn't use his sword." Fang Fang said as he watched the catalyst mage swipe another arc of energy towards the dragon. The group watched as he geared back with his sword while dark electrical energy swirled around the blade. He could use all the magic he wanted to amplify his sword, he could use any means necessary to slay a dragon in his sight, as long as the ends justified the means he was free to do whatever he saw fit in order to slay these beasts. However there was one golden rule that he would follow above all else, something that he would never dare defy.

No matter what the situation may be, he could never use his sword against anything other than the dragons he was sworn to kill.

"He really is a dragon slayer." Apoch said softly.

"I don't believe it…Ms. Falla really does have a dragon slayer for a boyfriend." Astreal said with wonder.

"What? This guy is Falla's boyfriend?" Rason said with a jump.

"He is?" Moka said with surprise.

"How did Falla hook up with a dragon slayer in the human world?" Kurumu said with bewilderment.

"Again, we have many things to tell you later, possibly a whole day's worth of stories." Ruby said as the group watched Ceal stand before the large obsidian dragon. She then looked up with worry, the witch hoping that Gabriel was taking care of the two wayward angels during all this.

_Please tell me at least something went right today._

* * *

Up in the sky Gabriel was flying higher and higher while holding onto Arial's hand, the snow angel looking down towards the earth below with sorrowful eyes. Complica was flying next to them as she was looking up ahead with a worried expression.

"But Gabriel, I can't leave now, my husband is down there and he needs me!" Arial whined loudly as she tried yanking her hand free.

"Don't give me that crap Arial, you are in so much trouble, do you hear me?" the angel said sternly as he looked back to the girl. She looked at him with frustration and worry then down again.

"I can't believe you would be so foolish to fly into that rift like that, both of you even." Gabriel said looking to Complica. The girl flinched at those words then nodded with tears starting to form.

"I'm sorry, I just…I just wanted to save my sister and friend." She said as she wiped her tears away. Gabriel and Arial looked to her as they flew higher into the sky, with the redheaded angel showing a bit of remorse.

"As soon as I drop you two off with the elder I'm going back to join the others Complica. We'll save your sister, I swear it." he said gently. She nodded and looked to him with a small smile.

"Ceal promised that too." She said softly.

"And he meant it. I don't think a dragon slayer would lie to you." Gabriel said with a soft smile. Complica nodded then looked ahead with worry.

"I just want her back safe and sound, I don't want her to be alone in the darkness." She said worriedly. Gabriel looked ahead with worry, the angel knowing that Luna wouldn't really be 'alone' in the darkness while she was in captivity, something that he hoped to free her from before she suffered any horrible fate.

"I'll bring her out of the dark world Complica, I promise." He said softly, the boy remembering the beautiful chronofly that he escorted into the heavenly realm.

_Luna…please be alright still, please._

"Don't take me back now, I need to be with my husband! It's not fair it's not fair it's not fair!" Arial yelled out as she kicked and thrashed around. Gabriel glanced to her then looked ahead again with a focused expression.

"I really need to have a talk with your parents about your upbringing Arial." He said flatly.

They flew higher up into the sky towards the clouds while the wind raced past them. Gabriel reached out and grabbed onto Complica's hand, the girl looking at him with worry as Arial looked down towards the earth with teary eyes.

"Alright, it's back to heaven with you two. And this time you're going to stay there." Gabriel said sternly as he glanced to Arial. The girl reached out towards the earth below and cried out.

"Dark! Wait for me! I'll see you again soon, I promise!" she yelled out.

Suddenly the two girls were yanked from his grip and bounced back as a wave of glowing light flickered in front of them. Gabriel flew up then stopped, the boy looking down to seeing Arial and Complica rubbing their heads and flying in place in the air.

"What?" he said under his breath as his eyes widened.

"Ow, what was that for?" Arial said looking up at the angel with annoyance. Complica shook her head then pressed her hands on the barrier, the girl trying to push through as the light held her back.

"What…what is this? Gabriel? What is this?" she cried out. Gabriel flew back down, the angel passing through the glowing barrier, and grabbed her hand. He tried to pull her up but her body wouldn't pass through the light. Arial pressed on it and looked around as the light rippled and pulsated in front of her.

"Gabriel? What's going on? Why aren't we going back? I want to go back!" Complica cried out as the redheaded angel kept trying to pull her up.

"What…this…this isn't right." He said worriedly as he grabbed Arial's hand and tried to pull her up. The snow angel's body would not pass through the light, the girl pressing on the barrier as she looked around nervously.

"Gabriel? What's going on?" she asked worriedly. Gabriel let go and floated in place above the barrier of light, the angel watching with wide eyes as Arial and Complica couldn't pass through.

_No…don't tell me…_

"Gabriel!" Complica cried out as she pounded on the barrier. Arial pushed with all her might and looked around with wide eyes, the girl unable to pass through the light.

"No…it can't be…" Gabriel said as Complica clawed at the barrier fearfully. She started breathing heavily as Arial shook her head.

"No…you're not thinking…" the snow angel said with fear.

"We can't go back! We can't get back in! Let me in let me in! Please Gabriel! I want to go back to my family! I want to go back!" Complica cried out with tears forming, the girl pounding wildly on the barrier of light. Gabriel shook his head then looked up, the angel knowing what he feared to be true. The heavenly realm was sealed off from the mortal world by its own barrier. Guardian angels and those brought by them were able to pass through the gateway into the realm without problem, however all souls in heaven were always intended to remain in the realm in their eternal afterlife. This meant that no soul could ever leave the heavenly realm under any circumstances.

No soul could pass through the gateway, from either side.

"No…you can't go through the heavenly gateway." he said looking back to the angels with shock. Complica cried and pounded on the barrier with all her might while Arial started to breathe heavily.

"We're trapped…we're trapped here?" she said in surprise as her frosted wings flapped behind her.

"No! I don't want to be trapped out of heaven, please Gabriel! I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry! Please let me back in!" Complica cried out. Arial pressed against the barrier with wide eyes and looked around as the light rippled away from them showing the heavenly barrier that was keeping them in the mortal realm.

"Gabriel help!" Complica cried as she kept trying to fly up through the barrier. Gabriel looked at the two wayward angels with frustration and sorrow.

"No…they're trapped…they can't pass back into heaven." He said as he shook his head. He flew down and held Complica, the girl crying into his shoulder as she hugged him tightly.

"Please Gabriel, I want to go back home! I want to go back home!" she cried out. Arial looked at her friend with worry then down as she flew in place in the air, the girl showing a bit of fear in her eyes as she realized that she wasn't able to return to heaven.

"It'll be ok Complica, we'll get this sorted out. I promise, we'll get you two home again." Gabriel said looking up with worry.

_This isn't good, souls aren't allowed to pass through the barrier, which means they're blocked from both sides of the gateway. How am I going to get them back home now?_

* * *

Outside the walls of the HDA command center people and other soldiers were watching with wide eyes as a large dragon was roaring and breathing fire around inside the courtyard of the compound. People started running away screaming while soldiers radioed for every unit within the city limits to get down there for support. As people were running away in a panic one girl was sitting in her car watching the sight with fright. She was dressed in normal blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and white sneakers; the girl having short green hair and hazel eyes that were watching the dragon roar before it blew more fire around into the courtyard.

"Oh…my…god…" Sandra breathed out as her hands trembled. She shook her head and looked around quickly as people were scrambling far away from the area as fast as they could. She shifted the car into drive and drove forward a bit, then hit the brakes and shook her head with frustration.

"No, I can't leave them here like this. Dammit this sucks! Sun, Arial, Complica, please just get the hell out of there soon." she said looking ahead at the dragon as a firestorm erupted around the courtyard of the compound.

Inside the building the group was watching as fire was flaring around outside in the courtyard while the dragon was roaring and stomping around. Flashes of light and sharp pitched bangs were seen and heard as the flames billowed around. Inside the haze Ceal was seen darting around as the dragon snapped and swiped at him, the boy swinging his blade and striking at the beast with powerful arcs of magical energy.

"He wasn't just blowing smoke when he called himself a dragon slayer, he's the real deal." Gin said with wonder. Kokoa blinked then looked to Sun with a glare.

"Ok, what's your deal anyway?" she yelled out. The group looked to her as marched up to the siren.

"First you kiss _my_ boyfriend, then you've got dragons here chasing after you! What's your deal?" she shouted out. Sun looked at her worriedly and shook her head, then was grabbed by the collar and lifted up by the young vampire.

"Enough with the silent act, talk!" she yelled out.

"Kokoa stop, put her down." Gin pleaded. Kokoa growled then looked to him with a glare while holding the siren up.

"Please Kokoa, she's not doing anything malicious, don't hurt her." Ruby said worriedly.

"Yeah, she was the one that was protecting Com-" Razico started before Ruby elbowed him in the gut.

"Was protecting who?" Moka asked. Razico coughed a bit then smiled nervously as he glanced to Dark and Mizore.

"Um…nobody." the warlock said shakily.

"Again with the looking at us, what aren't you telling us?" Dark said cautiously. Kokoa growled then looked into Sun's eyes with a deep glare.

"Start talking now, or else I'll beat you into the ground until you're a bloody smear." she said sternly. Gin ran over and pried her hands off of Sun, the siren then quickly running behind him as he shook his head worriedly.

"Stop Kokoa, please, she's just an old friend from the school. Really, I wasn't expecting her to kiss me earlier like that either, honest." He pleaded. Sun looked at him curiously as he turned to face her while Kokoa growled and glared at the siren.

"But what are you doing here Sun? And why were you with…um, those two." He said, the wolf saying the last part quietly.

"I can read lips wolf, what other two?" Dark said narrowing his eyes. Gin and Sun jumped a bit and looked to him worriedly.

"What's going on, what are you all hiding from us?" Mizore said looking around at the group. Rason looked around then scratched his head.

"Wait, where are those other two small monster children at?" he asked. Apoch and Astreal jumped a bit then waved their hands around nervously.

"What other children? There were no other children with us, really." they said in unison.

"Holy…how did you two say that together like that?" Render said with surprise. Leon just looked at them with wonder then to Rason as the angel looked at them with puzzlement. He blinked then looked up.

"Wait, Ceal said for Gabriel to go up to meet 'those two' earlier, was that them he was talking about?" he asked.

"What two? What are you all talking about?" Yukari asked.

"That's what we want to know." Mizore said looking at Kokoa carefully. The vampire smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Dark growled a bit and shook his head.

"I'm not up for secrets between us right now, there's enough shit going on that I have to deal with already. The humans are trying to execute us, we've got a dragon that came out of nowhere attacking us..." Dark said, the demon then looking to Apoch. After a pause he looked back to Kokoa.

"And for some reason Apoch's heart no longer has my mark on it." he said. Moka and her group looked to Apoch with surprise as the witch smiled nervously. Render glanced to her then looked back to Dark with a bit of worry.

"Um, I can explain that…" Apoch said nervously.

"Your mark is gone?" Yukari said with wide eyes.

"But…how?" Mizore said looking at the witch.

"Again…we'll explain everything when we get out of here." Ruby said worriedly with a small smile.

From the courtyard the dragon roared as it charged into the building, the group looking to it with surprise as it arched back while its mouth glowed a bright red. Its body was cut up all over while its wings and tail were sliced off. The group jumped back a bit and tensed up before an arc of light and dark energy shot through the dragon from behind, the wave of energy tearing through the dragon's chest causing blood to spray out a bit. The monster stumbled forward and crashed down with its head dropping onto the steel ground with a loud thud. It growled quietly as it looked to Sun, the siren staring at it with wide eyes.

"Holy…shit." Rason said quietly.

From behind the dragon Ceal walked towards the group, the boy holding his sword in his normal hand while his eyes watched the dragon closely. He walked up towards the group and stood in front of the dragon, the boy looking from the beast to Sun with a careful eye.

"Ceal…you did it." Ruby said softly with wonder.

"Holy shit man, you really took it down." Render said with amazement.

"Who are you girl?" Ceal asked coldly. The group looked to Sun as she pointed to herself worriedly.

"A dragon." Ceal said as he started walking towards her while the dragon groaned a bit on the ground.

"A dragon. A _dragon_ was sent here for you. It tried to take you away girl, and even now when it's on the verge of death it's only looking at you." Ceal said glancing to the beast. Its large red eyes were fixated on Sun as the girl looked to it with worry.

"An obsidian dragon never comes into the human world girl, never. They remain in their homes near the volcanic region near the dark deserts in the monster world. Yet here one is, in the human world, after you." Ceal said looking into the eyes of the siren. Sun looked around worriedly then shook her head.

"I've seen those things before, my old master kept them as pets." Ran said nervously. Ceal glanced to her as the group looked to the siren. Ran looked to the dark monster then to Sun.

"But…how did it get here? And why was it after you?" she asked worriedly. Sun shook her head then looked back to the dragon. Ceal looked at Ran for a moment then over to the dragon, the mage then walking towards it with a cold glare. He geared back then thrust his blade into the skull of the beast with a slick crunch, the mage then twisting the blade slightly with a focused expression. The group watched with wonder as the dragon twitched a bit then fell limp on the ground as its eyes slowly closed. Ceal yanked the blade out with a carving sound and looked at the downed dragon for a moment, then back over to Sun.

"When we're out of here, you and I are going to have a very long talk." he said coldly. The siren just looked at him with worry then glanced to the dragon. Ceal looked over to Fang Fang, the mage then walking up to him while holding his bloodied sword.

"Um…well done. I knew you could do it." Fang Fang said nervously. Ceal growled as his reptilian hand glowed a black hue. From the ground multiple dark tentacles came up around the boy as the group watched cautiously.

"What the hell is that?" Ahakon said shakily. Yukari looked at the tentacles with wide eyes as she and the mage stepped back a bit.

"Ew, what are those things?" Kurumu said as she backed up behind Rason, the angel looking at them with surprise.

"Again, many things happened you guys. Frankly I'm not even sure where to start at this point." Ruby said as Fang Fang looked around nervously at the limbs then to Ceal.

"So, about what happened with my family…I know it was very wrong of my father to try to go back on the deal, and believe me I'm on your side in the matter completely." Fang Fang said with a worried smile. After a moment of uneasy silence Ceal reached out and yanked off a sleeve from the boy's outfit with one pull, the group watching as he then used the fabric to wipe the blood off his sword while glaring at Fang Fang still. The yasha gulped and smiled nervously.

"Um…I can pay you whatever the price was on behalf of my father, really. I don't want any trouble with the dragon slayers of course, especially after you did do what you were hired to do. That and how you handled this one as well." he said shakily.

"I care not for money or gold yasha, I never did." Ceal said as he examined his blade. He tossed the bloody rags off to the side and looked back to Fang Fang with discontent.

"What I want is repentance from your family for going back on our deal." He said coldly. Fang Fang gulped and looked down to the dark tentacles that were swaying around him. Ceal looked at him for a moment then glanced down.

"Xarai." he called out. The group watched as a dark limb came from the ground behind the mage holding the sheath in its grip. Ceal spun the sword around and slid it into the sheath with a click while keeping his eyes on Fang Fang. The limb then lowered the sword down into the dark rift before vanishing completely.

"Now then…" Ceal said coldly as the dark limbs wrapped around Fang Fang's arms and legs. The boy looked at the dark appendages with worry then to Ceal as the catalyst mage narrowed his blue eyes at him.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't let Xarai devour you whole." he said as the group watched with worry. The ground under Fang Fang shifted away into a darkness that showed razor sharp teeth below in the void.

"What…what the hell is that thing?" Kurumu said shaking her head.

"His pet, Xarai." Ruby said looking at Ceal worriedly.

"A necro demon." Dark said as he and Mizore watched the monster from below groan softly while holding Fang Fang in its grip.

"Wait, please don't do this, he said it wasn't his fault for what his father did. He even offered to pay what you were denied in order to avoid a fight." Moka said worriedly. Fang Fang nodded quickly with a nervous expression.

"Yes, that's right. I never harbored any ill will towards you, I was thankful you killed the dragon for my family. Please, let me make this right between us, just name whatever it is you want and I'll make it happen." he said quickly. Ceal glared at him for a moment as the group watched worriedly. Fang Fang trembled a bit and glanced around at the group.

"Somebody help me out here, please." he said nervously. Mizore looked at him curiously then to Dark, the demon showing no real expression on the matter.

"Sorry, but it sounds like this is a matter between you two. I don't know either of you, I'm not going to get involved in your little quarrel." he said with a shrug. Mizore just looked at Fang Fang with no expression, the snow girl going with her demon's decision.

"Um…could I suggest not killing him? I mean it sounds like he didn't really have anything to do with his father's choice." Rason said raising his hand. Kurumu looked at the yasha curiously as he was bound by the dark tentacles, the girl shuddering a bit as she saw them coming up from the ground through a dark rift.

"Yes, please listen to the angel, I had nothing to do with how they treated you." Fang Fang pleaded. Ceal narrowed his eyes as the group glanced to each other.

"How about you feed this bitch to your pet instead and call it a day?" Kokoa said looking at Sun, the siren jumping a bit and shaking her head quickly. Gin looked to his girlfriend then to Sun, then over to Ceal with a worried expression.

"Ceal killed a dragon for us, I'd say let him do what he sees is fair." Razico said simply.

"That does make sense, though I'm not sure I want to see this poor boy be devoured right in front of us." Ruby said worriedly. Fang Fang turned a bit pale and trembled as Ceal glanced down to the open mouth of his pet.

"Whatever we say won't make a difference, it's up to Ceal how to deal with those that go back on their word with him." Leon said looking at Fang Fang.

"Yes, but he personally didn't do anything wrong, his dad was the corrupted one." Render reasoned. Apoch and Astreal glanced to each other then looked back to Fang Fang.

"Isn't there some other way you can settle this? Something that wouldn't involve killing him?" Ahakon asked curiously. Fang Fang nodded eagerly as Ceal looked back up to him.

"Couldn't he offer some form of payment to you? He said he would do whatever it took to make things right with you again." Yukari suggested.

"Yes, she's right. Just let me make up for how my father treated you, really. I insist." Fang Fang pleaded. Ceal looked at him for a moment then flexed his reptilian hand slightly.

"I don't have any need for you yasha." he said coldly. The group looked at him worriedly as Fang Fang shook his head with fear.

"Wait, can't we talk about this? I'm sure we could come to some sort of agreement." he pleaded. Ceal narrowed his eyes at him, then looked behind quickly. The group looked over to see Gabriel standing next to the downed dragon, the angel looking at it with wonder.

"Gabriel? Where did you go?" Rason asked. Gabriel looked over to him then shook his head.

"I…I…" he said shakily. Ceal looked at him for a moment then glanced behind the angel. Complica ran past the redheaded boy and raced up to Ceal, the girl hugging him tightly around the waist and crying.

"Ceal! I couldn't go back, I couldn't go back home!" she cried out.

"Who is that?" Moka asked as she saw the butterfly wings behind the young girl. Ceal looked at the girl then to Gabriel.

"What is this, why is she still here?" he demanded. Gabriel looked to him and shook his head, the boy opening his mouth to speak then looking down as words failed him. Ceal growled then walked over to him, the boy's magic fading as the tentacles holding Fang Fang vanished. The boy cried out and thrashed around in the air above the open rift that showed the endless teeth of the necro demon, then fell down onto the ground as it phased back to normal.

"Why is she still here angel?" Ceal demanded loudly as he walked up to the boy. Gabriel looked to him with remorse and showed a worried expression.

"They…couldn't go back." he said weakly. Ceal looked at him for a moment, then grabbed him by the shoulders, lifted him up, and slammed him against the body of the dragon.

"What do you mean they couldn't go back?" Ceal said with a glare. Sun looked at him with surprise then to Complica with worry.

"Who is that? She has butterfly wings just like Luna and Falla." Kurumu said looking at the young angel. Complica looked at her worriedly and then to Gabriel.

"Hey, what are you doing? Put him down." Rason said running over to Ceal and grabbing his arm. The mage glanced to him then looked back to Gabriel.

"Why is she still here angel? Explain!" he yelled out. Complica started crying and shaking her head as the group looked to her.

"She couldn't go back?" Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth.

"Who is she?" Yukari asked looking at the girl. She blinked then looked at the butterfly wings closely.

"Those wings, they're just like Luna and Falla's." she said in wonder. Complica looked at her with a worried expression and nodded.

"Um…" she said softly. Rason looked back to the young chronofly then to Gabriel as he tried to pull Ceal's grip off of him.

"Gabriel what is going on here?" he demanded. Gabriel looked at him with remorse and shook his head.

"I'm sorry friend, I'm sorry. I tried to bring them back, but…they couldn't go through the heavenly barrier. They're trapped in this world. I…I had to bring them back here to you guys." he said. Ceal looked at him with a slightly surprised expression and dropped the angel down to the ground, then looked to Complica. The girl cried out and ran over to him, the girl hugging him around the waist again as the group looked to her.

"I can't go back home Ceal, I can't go back! I tried and I tried but I couldn't go back home!" she sobbed as she held onto him. He looked down at the girl with a bit of wonder then to Gabriel.

"Heavenly barrier? Gabriel, who…is she?" Rason asked cautiously.

"Uh…well…funny story actually." Render said with a weak smile, the boy looking around at his group with a nervous expression. Ruby bit her lip slightly then looked to Rason with worry.

"Complica…Cii." she said softly. The group looked to her then to the young angel, then slowly went wide eyed as they remembered that name.

"Complica…wait, that's…she's…" Kurumu said pointing to the girl.

"Luna and Falla's…dead sister." Moka said with surprise. Complica looked to her and nodded with a worried expression. Rason looked at the girl with shock then to Gabriel.

"Gabriel...what is this? How…how can she…" he asked slowly. Gabriel looked at him with worry then over to the side, the boy jumping a bit as he stared with wide eyes at something. One by one everybody looked over to the side as another figure was seen flying down into the chamber from the opening.

"Who's that?" Moka asked as a girl with frosted wings landed down next to the dead dragon.

"Oh no…" Gabriel said under a whisper as Arial slowly walked towards the group. Her wings fluttered a bit behind her as her eyes were locked onto somebody in the group. Slowly everybody looked over to Dark as he was staring at the girl with wide eyes, the boy showing complete surprise for the first time as he stood there with his mouth opened slightly. Mizore looked at him curiously then to Arial again as the snow angel walked closer to him.

"Dark? You ok?" Ahakon asked as he saw the demon standing there with a stunned expression.

"Dark…" Arial said softly. Everybody looked to her as she walked closer to the group, her wings fluttering a bit as snow gently dropped from her wings.

"Who is that Gabriel?" Rason asked as he glanced to his friend.

"Arial." Dark breathed out. The group looked to him curiously then over to the snow angel as she stared at the boy with loving eyes, the girl tuning the world around her out completely as she felt her heart beating faster.

"Arial?" Rason said softly. He blinked then went wide eyed as everybody made the connection, everybody looking at the snow girl with frosted wings named Arial.

"A…A…Arial?" Moka stuttered out with a stunned expression.

"Arial…Kuyumaya?" Kurumu cried out.

"Arial." Mizore breathed out in shock. Yukari and Ahakon looked at the snow angel with awe as she was smiling at Dark with loving eyes. Gabriel gulped and nodded as the group watched the snow girl with disbelief.

"Who are these two?" Ran asked looking to Moka.

"They're…they…" the vampire said as she looked from one angelic monster to the other, the vampire trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Sun was looking at Arial with worry however, the siren fearing what may be coming soon.

"They came here from the heavenly realm…their souls found a way back." Gabriel said worriedly. Mizore stared with wide eyes at Arial, the snow maiden unable to believe that she was seeing the very girl that set Dark free from his old master's command. Arial smiled brightly then lunged forward into the air at Dark, the group watching as she tackled him down to the ground. He landed on his back looking up with wide eyes at the young snow angel, the girl's wings fluttering behind her as she was smiling with loving eyes.

"Dark…I finally found you again." she said softly.

"Arial…is…is it really you?" Dark said quietly. Arial slowly reached up and pulled her lollipop out as the group looked at the two monster angels with surprise. Rason blinked then looked to Gabriel with disbelief.

"Gabriel…what are they doing here? Why are they down here in this world? Why?" he yelled out shaking his comrade.

"I searched for you for so long, I waited and waited until we would finally be reunited…" Arial said softly as she caressed Dark's cheek, the demon looking at her with wonder as Mizore was rendered speechless by seeing the snow angel like this. Gabriel showed a worried expression and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I tried to stop her, I really did." he said looking to Arial.

"Stop her? Stop her from doing what?" Rason said looking to the snow angel. Arial looked at the demon with loving eyes as her wings fluttered a bit.

"At last I found you again, now we can be together just like we were always destined to…" she said softly. The group all looked to her as she smiled happily at her loved one.

"Now we can finally be together my darling husband." she said lovingly, right before she leaned down and kissed the boy with a loving embrace.


	7. Vengeful Spirit

High up in the sky a fighter jet was flying over a human city, the sleek black and gray aircraft moving near the clouds as its pilot was looking ahead through his closed visor. The sides of the craft had the letters HDA written on the body and tailfin of the jet while under the wings were two sets of missiles each, the fighter used for heavy warfare and air combat while it patrolled the skies above the city. It banked to the right and roared through the air as it made its way back to an airfield on the side of the city near the barren plains. There were multiple airstrips along with hangers used for the fighter planes off to the side, as well as dozens of combat helicopters parked over near the airstrips. There was a large structure with armored trucks, Humvees, and tanks parked outside in columns as well, all bearing the HDA paintjob and branding. The pilot looked around closely while soaring over the city the aircraft flew towards the HDA army center and outpost used for the local area to guard against monster attacks.

"Another quiet day, just figures." he said quietly as he flew towards his home base. As the field came into view his radio clicked on, first having static then switching over to the proper frequency.

"Attention all HDA units in the area, we have received word that the command center and containment facility has been overrun. I repeat, monsters are breaking free from containment in the city." a man's voice came over the radio. The pilot looked to his dashboard then around at the sky.

"Sounds like all the action's there, the skies are clear still." he said simply.

"All aircraft and ground forces are to converge on the command center at once, location is in a critical state and quarantine measures have failed." the man's voice over the radio called out again. The pilot shook his head as he flew towards the airfield still.

"Command I'm not carrying collateral friendly armaments, requesting permission to return at landing strip nine." he called out into his radio.

"Negative Hawk 2, you are cleared to engage in targets at the command center. Set course for the south end of the center and begin your strike." the radio called back.

"What? Sir, I'm carrying heavy ordinance and that center is in the city." the pilot said shaking his head.

"The nearby populace is being evacuated and the city is under lockdown. You are cleared for your strike Hawk 2, set course for the south end of the center and begin your run." the radio called back. The pilot paused for a moment then banked off from his course to the airfield.

"Roger sir, requesting status of command center and targets." he said as he flew through the sky.

"The command center is considered lost at this point. All units are to surround and block off any monsters from escaping into the city. Use of lethal force is authorized. All heavy ordinance cleared for use on the command center, we've gotten reports of…very large targets seen breaking through the command center's walls." the radio said cautiously.

"Again sir, I'm carrying heavy ordinance, what about HDA personal inside the center?" the pilot said cautiously.

"Those that are inside have been given orders to evacuate and regroup with surrounding forces outside the center. Security teams and measures in the center have failed and heavy casualties have been sustained. Chief Jenner Rythmore is believed to be dead, contingency protocols are in effect and the vice chief of the HDA has given the order." the radio called back.

"Roger sir, this is Hawk 2 getting ready for my run. ETA to contact is about three minutes." the pilot called back as he flipped a few switches on the dashboard.

"Roger that Hawk 2, attack the south end of the building and then engage targets of opportunity. All other units are to converge on the center at once, do not let any of those things break out into our world." the radio called back. The jet roared through the air as it flew towards its target, the fighter craft carrying four missiles used for surface to air combat and a single warhead housed inside the craft's underbelly used for high profile targets on the ground. The pilot clicked a few buttons on his dashboard then held the steering stick with both hands as he flew his jet towards his target.

"Looks like this day is going to get interesting after all." he said with caution.

Back at the airfield dozens of soldiers and pilots were running towards their attack choppers with haste, the sleek black and gray vehicles armed with machine guns on both sides of the chassis along with missile pods on both wings. As they started up their rotors and prepared to take off other soldiers were jumping into armored transport trucks and Humvees, the HDA vehicles then racing out of the complex towards the city to join other local forces. All the combat personal of the base boarded their jets, choppers, trucks, Humvees, and a few tanks as well, all of them racing out as fast as they could to engage the enemy they were all ready to kill on sight.

* * *

High atop a black and darkened mountain a stone palace was barely seen in the shadows. Above the building dark clouds swirled around as lightning and thunder crackled above around the mountain obscuring any visibility higher up. Below the palace overlooked by a stone courtyard were dark swirling clouds as well, the bleak weather flying around the mountain as glimpses of light pierced through every now and then from the world below. Seated inside the palace a figure was watching something with annoyance while he was obscured by the shadows, the dark ruler sitting at his throne that overlooked the courtyard before him between the stone pillars. Between two of the pillars a swirling fire was seen floating in the air, with the center of the ring of flame showing an obsidian dragon roaring while a boy with a sword struck at it with a powerful magical attack. The dark ruler watched as the dragon slayer dodged and evaded the mighty beast's attacks while slicing and cutting it apart with his powerful strikes. The dragon roared as it stumbled down and crashed onto the ground inside a human building, with the dark ruler watching with discontent as the dragon slayer struck his sword into the skull of the beast and killed it.

"A dragon slayer…I ponder the odds of one being there at that given moment, and I find myself wondering why I wasn't informed that a dragon slayer was even in that world to begin with!" the man roared out. The fire flickered and vanished as a winged minion appeared before the palace and bowed to his king. He was obscured as well, however his feathered wings were seen in his outline as the minion trembled with fear.

"I apologize my lord, we were not aware that this monster was indeed a dragon slayer." he said in a shaky voice.

"This is quite a thorn in my side. Do you realize I have other preparations to attend to that require my attention? Not to mention that opening a rift in that world was something I didn't want to waste the energy on without getting something in return. All I got out of it was a waste of my time and a dead dragon." the dark lord's voice boomed. The minion jumped a bit and nodded nervously.

"Well, the dragon almost succeeded my lord." the minion said worriedly.

"Yes, almost, until a dragon slayer appeared in their group. It's bad enough they have my sirens in their ranks, but now I must deal with a pesky slayer as well. I don't have time for all these distractions, not when I'm so close to readying my army." the lord said with anger. The minion trembled a bit as the dark lord growled a bit to himself.

"What do you wish of me my lord?" the minion asked shakily. The dark lord breathed out in discontent stood up in the shadows.

"With two sirens and a slayer in that group I'm not going to waste more energy on the matter by sending a few pawns at them. These misguided monsters will be wiped out when the invasion begins, no matter who they may have playing for their side." he said with discontent.

"Sir? What about the siren Sun Otonashi? With her power she would make a perfect addition to our front lines, will we really just abandon our pursuit of her?" the minion asked. The dark lord looked at him through the shadows as thunder boomed above.

"She would be a valuable addition, however I have other matters that take precedence over her. Keep an eye on her and where she may try to flee with her new escorts. I would rather have her leading the charge for my army than being crushed under it, however I'm not going to waste more of my power when the odds are stacked against us. Without committing to a full on attack we are unable to capture her now, especially if she uses her full power in her own defense." the dark lord said with a tone of anger. The minion nodded then lowered his head.

"As you wish my lord, I'll keep a close watch over the siren." he said humbly.

"I shall return for your update later, right now I have greater work to attend to. Don't let her out of your sight, and if the chance presents itself, bring her in alive. I have no concerns about sending other troops if need be, however I will not waste my energy with anything other than a small contingent." the lord said firmly. The minion nodded and bowed as the dark lord vanished into a rift in time, the sear sealing up as it crackled and pulsated with a distorting effect. The minion extended out its wings and took off into the sky, the dark being phasing out of view as well.

From the shadows near the rocky mountain next to the palace a figure slowly walked out.

"When the king's away, I shall play." she said in a quiet voice. The figure then dashed towards the palace as lightning streaked by above. She wore black shoes and jeans, with a dark hood and cloak around her body. She ran towards the palace and snuck alongside the stone wall towards the front of the building. She peeked around from under her hood to seeing the courtyard empty and the pillars of the building next to her leading into the shadowy palace.

"Guessing he's not a fan of the light." she said quietly to herself. She then darted into the palace and held out her hand, the girl using a bright flashlight to illuminate her path. On her wrist over a black leather sleeve a glowing band of greenish light was seen, the bracelet having the green and light blue colors swirling around slowly inside of it. Her footsteps echoed out as she ran down the darkened corridors, with the floors being black marble with the walls being smoothed dark stone.

"His interior decorator sucks ass." she muttered quietly to herself as she ran down the hall. She came up to an intersection and looked around, the girl glancing around cautiously from under her hood.

"Where are you?" she said quietly to herself as she peered around in the dark castle. There were no light sources at all except for her flashlight and the faint glow from her bracelet. She spun around and saw a dark skinned humanoid figure phasing into view nearby, the tall and muscular beast having blood red eyes and a row of spines sticking out along its back down to its waist. The girl quickly drew out a handgun with her other hand and fired a few rounds at the beast, the bullets striking into the skull of the monster and dropping him instantly. The echoes of the bangs from her shots rang out as she looked around quickly.

"This is going to get bad soon, better hurry." she said as she picked one of the corridors at random, the girl running quickly as she held her flashlight in one hand and her handgun in the other. From behind she heard growls and roars echoing out along with her footsteps as she ran as fast as she could. Ahead of her a bony figure phased into view, the large creature taking up the entire hallway as it had two stumpy legs, a bony body, and eight long arms that came from around its torso. The monster had one red eye as two of the arms reached behind it and drew out a sword each while two others swung at the girl. She darted back then spun around to see a large wolf demon with two heads running towards her, the monster taking up the entire hallway as well. The girl flicked the flashlight up above her and quickly drew out a second handgun, the girl firing a few rounds at the wolf before turning back towards the armed (literally) monster and firing a few more. The monster swung at her with a sword and fist, the girl darting to the side, jumping off the wall and firing more at the monster's eye while the flashlight reached the peak of its toss into the air and spun around slightly. The armed monster stumbled back as the girl landed down and darted over to the other wall, then kicked off it and jumped up into the air as the wolf monster snapped at her with one of its heads.

"Down boy!" she yelled as she fired repeatedly into the beast while in the air, the girl landing down and tossing up one of her guns while she aimed at the bony armed monster with the other. She caught the flashlight as it dropped down while she fired at the bony monster as the wolf demon stumbled back with both heads bleeding from bullet wounds. The bony monster was hit a few times in the chest and stumbled back, the monster collapsing dead as another dark humanoid figure raced up towards the girl with fire flaring around his hand, the caster dressed in a dark cloak and hood while its red eyes glowed in the darkness.

"Dammit I don't have time for this." the girl said as she tossed her flashlight up, quickly ejected the empty magazine in her gun, reloaded it, then caught the other handgun as it dropped down. She fired her newly reloaded gun at the caster while ejecting the magazine in the other spent gun, the girl dodging to the side as a fiery blast shot past her before the caster was pelted and dropped back dead. The wolf demon behind her took the fiery blast to one of its heads and tumbled back with a howl as the girl holstered her armed gun, grabbed the flashlight as it dropped back down, then grabbed a new magazine and reloaded her other gun. She ran down the hall away from the three dead monsters as more roars were heard behind her.

"Gonna run out of ammo at this rate, dammit where are you?" she said with frustration as she ran down the hall at a quickened pace. She looked around franticly as she moved her flashlight all around the corridor.

"A fucking map or visitor signs would be nice, but no, he's gotta make this whole place look like the same black shit everywhere you go." she growled with frustration. She ran around a corner and looked around quickly, then spotted several steel doors on each side of the hallway. The cloaked girl ran up and kicked open one of them, the girl shining the light in and seeing nothing but an empty stone holding cell. She growled then ran to the adjacent one and kicked it open as well, the girl looking inside to seeing nothing there.

"Fuck, where are you?" she cursed out loud as she ran to another door. She kicked it open and aimed her flashlight and gun inside, the girl seeing nothing in that cell either. She looked around as footsteps were heard getting closer from both directions. The girl aimed the flashlight down one way and saw a dark scaled lizard beast running towards her with red eyes and a large broadsword, then down the other hall she saw a large hairy spider demon crawling down the corridor towards her with its eight legs gripping the floor and walls as its pincers snapped at her. Its multiple red eyes were fixated on the intruder as she growled with frustration.

"Getting pissed off now." she said as she dropped the flashlight onto the ground then kicked it sharply causing it to spin around in circles on the marble floor showing both incoming enemies briefly with the spinning light. She brought out both of her guns and aimed down both halls as the two dark monsters closed in on her. The girl fired both weapons repeatedly, the bangs echoing out as flashes of light were seen while the bullets flew down both halls at the same time. She looked from one monster to the other as she repeatedly hit them, the girl watching as the spider demon staggered and hissed at her while the lizard monster darted around and got hit in the arms and shoulders. The monster roared and swung his blade at her, the girl dodging to the side, shooting him in the head point blank, then darting around and kicking the demon's body towards the spider monster. It crashed into the large beast and it stumbled back as the girl aimed both guns and fired repeatedly at the giant arachnid. All its eyes were shot out as it howled and hissed in pain, then dropped down with a thud as the girl looked around quickly. She ejected both empty magazines and started to reload them as she stepped down on the spinning flashlight and stopped it.

"Last two clips, not looking so good." she said as she clicked the guns with the new magazines. She holstered them under her cloak then reached down, the girl picking up her flashlight and the sword dropped by the lizard demon.

"Guess I should conserve the ammo for my escape, provided I survive that long." she said before she ran over to another steel bolted door and kicked it open. She kept the sword ready to strike as she moved her light around inside the empty cell. The girl growled in frustration then ran over to another door, the girl promptly kicking it open and shining her light in. She paused then trembled a bit as this cell wasn't empty.

Inside the room multiple figures were seen with another being bound in the center of the area by multiple chains.

"Oh…my…god…" the cloaked girl said under her breath as she held her light in the room.

In the middle of the room a girl was on her knees, with chains around her ankles and thighs. She was leaning forward with her arms being chained outward at the wrists and shoulders. A strong shackle was around her waist as her brightly colored butterfly wings were limp at her sides, the girl being completely naked as her clothing was lying on the ground in tatters.

"What…the…fuck!" the cloaked girl screamed as she saw the bound chronofly before her.

Around the chained girl were a few larger dark skinned demons, all of them having long shaggy black hair and red eyes. They were grinning and showing their fangs as their muscular bodies were in full view. One of them was holding onto the butterfly girl from behind while riding her vigorously, the monster grunting as he violated the butterfly girl like the many others before him. Another dark monster was in front of the girl using her mouth on his large member, the girl's green eyes seeming dull and unfocused as she was held by the monster's hands and moved back and forth. Her body glistened in the light of the cloaked girl, with her short dark hair and naked body having been used by the dark monsters for their sick pleasure. The bracelet over her wrist was dull with all the gems being clear and dark as her magic was repressed in this world. As the two dark monsters continued to chuckle and violate the chronofly two others looked over to the cloaked girl as she watched with utter shock at the sight.

"No…no! LUNA!" she screamed as she ran in and swung her blade, the girl slicing down the chest of one of the monsters before she spun around and cleaved the other across his waist. The other two dark monsters looked over in surprise before the cloaked girl swung her blade around and struck through the skull of the one using the chronofly's mouth. He jerked about then dropped dead, with his member falling out of the chronofly's mouth along with a white liquid that dripped down her chin. She wavered a bit then her head slowly hung low, the girl not making a sound or moving as her eyes were unfocused.

"HOW DARE YOU!" the cloaked girl roared as she swung around and sliced through a few chains, the links sparking as her blade swiped around and cleaved the other monster's head right off his shoulders. The dark being dropped dead as the cloaked girl looked at the bound chronofly with horror.

"No…NO! LUNA!" she cried out in shock as the bound girl remained limp in the remaining chains holding her up. The cloaked girl shook with fear at the sight, the girl staring at the chronofly who had been abused to the breaking point during her captivity.

"Luna…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry!" the cloaked girl cried out shaking her head. She roared out with anger as she swung her blade around, the girl slicing the chains off of the bound girl with fierce strikes.

"You're going to pay for this you asshole! You're going to pay for what you did to her!" she yelled as she sliced the last chain, the chronofly then dropping to the ground with a thump as her body twitched a bit. The cloaked girl dropped her sword and rushed over to the chronofly's side, then ripped off the steel shackles that were on the girl's body still. She tossed them aside with a yell then lifted the chronofly up a bit and held her in her arms.

"Luna? Luna! Can you hear me? Luna!" she cried out as she shook the girl. Luna's head rocked a bit in her arms as her eyes didn't focus at all, the girl remaining quiet as a white liquid dripped from her mouth and her womanhood. The cloaked girl looked her over with fright and screamed out.

"LUNA!" she cried out holding her close. She sobbed a bit and looked at the girl as more roars were heard echoing outside the cell.

"Don't worry…I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to get you out of this place." she said as she picked up the chronofly and held her in her arms bridal style. Luna's wings were limp as they were held behind her back as the cloaked girl held her flashlight in one of her hands still. She lifted the girl up and raced out the corridor, then looked around quickly as snarls and growls echoed out nearby.

"I won't let them take you Luna, I swear to the Almighty I won't let them use you again!" the cloaked girl yelled as she took off down a hall while the roars of the dark monsters got closer from behind her. She ran down the darkened corridor as her light swayed from side to side in front of her, the girl looking around quickly then back to the chronofly in her arms.

"Luna, please wake up!" she cried out as she ran down the corridor. She came up to an intersection and looked around quickly, the girl seeing shadowy monsters approaching from the two side hallways. The girl then bolted down the middle hall as roars of monsters echoed out behind her. She rounded a corner and raced down a darkened hall as she held the chronofly tightly in her arms.

"God fucking dammit the entire garrison is going to be on top of us soon." the girl said with frustration as she rounded another corner and raced down a darkened hall, the girl's light swaying around quickly in front of her as her footsteps echoed out along with the roars of the shadowy monsters behind her. She ran down the hall and out the front of the palace, the girl making haste across the stone courtyard as dozens of shadowy figures and beasts started to phase into view behind her. As she approached the edge of the stone courtyard overlooking the swirling clouds below a winged figure landed down in front of her. He was dressed in dark shoes and dress pants, a white undershirt with a black dress shirt left unbuttoned, a long black tie that flowed in the wind, and had short spiked dark hair with black eyes that had a green shimmer in them. His gray feathers fluttered in the wind as he crossed his arms and smiled amusingly at the intruder.

"And where do you think you're going with our guest?" he said with a chuckle.

"You fucking bastard, you're not getting her back. Never!" the cloaked girl yelled out. She glanced behind to see dozens of dark monsters glaring at her with their red eyes, the beasts ranging in size and shape yet still obscured by the shadows around them.

"Oh but we are, I'm afraid we can't let her go now, after all she has a very important role to play here." the dark minion said with a laugh.

"Important role? As your fucking sex doll? How about you go fuck yourself instead!" the cloaked girl yelled out. The minion chuckled and shook his head.

"A sex doll? Oh come now, its nothing like that. We're giving her protection from the world, we're keeping her alive, we're even giving her so much pleasure her mind is going numb. And all to help her start a family." the being said with a dark tone. The cloaked girl growled with anger as she held the chronofly in her arms.

"You're going to pay for trying to-"

"Haha, oh there is no trying involved my dear. After all, soldiers that can control time, that would be a perfect addition to my lord's army. And we would not waste time or effort with this one unless we were guaranteed that army." The minion laughed. The cloaked girl looked at him cautiously as he eyed the naked chronofly in her arms.

"Those that were selected to breed with her are a special and useful type of demon. They're strong, physically fit, and they're reproduction is of an accelerated rate." He said with a smirk.

"What…what are you talking about?" the cloaked girl said as the monsters behind her growled and snarled.

"Simple my dear intruder, they're born to breed. After the first release into her she's guaranteed to be pregnant." The minion said with a cold smile. The cloaked girl breathed out in horror then looked down to the chronofly.

"No…" she said under her breath.

"Oh yes, their breeding is of a much higher rate than others. They mature faster, they mate faster, and they are born faster. We have no intention on waiting long for a time controlling army after all, and the more she is filled with their semen the faster they will spawn." The minion said with a chuckle.

"Luna…" the cloaked girl said with a pained voice, the girl looking at the chronofly who's eyes were just looking up at the sky while being dull and unfocused.

"So you see her place is here, where her new family will be born and raised. You wouldn't want to keep her from being a happy mother for our new lord, would you?" the minion said with a laugh.

"No…NO! How could you?" the cloaked girl cried out shaking her head.

"Why are you so upset? She'll be overjoyed with her new offspring. Think about it, time altering chronoflies bred with the reproductive speed of these demons. She'll give birth to hundreds of chronoflies who will serve as soldiers and breeders for more. Why, it won't be long until my lord has an entire legion of these mighty warriors at his command, and all thanks to her." The minion said gesturing to the chronofly.

"You…you fucking monster!" the cloaked girl yelled out with fury.

"Haha, oh I'm more than just a monster girl. I'm above all you lesser beings of your world, as are all servants to the new king of all existence." the minion said as his body shifted into his monster form. His shirts ripped apart as his muscle mass increased. His skin shifted into a smooth dark scaled covering as his head stretched out and widened. His mouth opened to show razor sharp teeth as twin pincers emerged from the sides of his mouth. His feathered wings shifted into large leather demonic wings with bony spines coming from the edges of the skeletal frame. His hands shifted into large claws as his feet grew and tore apart his shoes to show reptilian feet. His dark eyes shifted into red ones as they glared at the cloaked girl.

"Now our dear guest is going back home, I'm sure her harem is waiting for her body right now." the dark being said as he stepped forward. The cloaked girl held on tightly to the chronofly and glanced behind to see dozens of shadowy figures filling the courtyard, their red eyes locked onto the cloaked girl as she stood there with her cape flowing a bit in the wind.

"You however have no place here, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you-" the minion started before he looked closely at the cloaked girl. This minion could see the monster energy from the chronofly clearly, the aura of the girl as her lifeforce was still intact. However the cloaked girl was a different story as her lifeforce was not the same.

"Wait…you're…" the minion said as he narrowed his red eyes at the girl.

"Luna…" the girl said as she held the chronofly close and lowered her head. She knelt down and held the girl close, then slipped one of her hands back into her cloak as the dark monster eyed the girl carefully. She had a monster aura, a signature of her being, however her lifeforce was different.

"You're not from the mortal world." the minion said as he narrowed his eyes.

"If you're not going to play fair, then neither are we." the cloaked girl said with malice. She gripped the chronofly and quickly tossed up a small grenade, the girl then ducking down as a bright flash erupted from the device. All the dark monsters howled and shielded their eyes as the girl dashed towards the edge of the courtyard as fast as she could. The dark minion yelled and swiped blindly at the blur he assumed was the girl. His claw caught the cloak of the girl and tore it off, the girl then jumping over the edge of the courtyard while holding onto Luna tightly. The minion roared and shielded his eyes as he threw the cloak aside.

"You won't escape me!" he yelled before he spread out his wings and took off. Two other large winged demons from the horde took off into the air after him and the three flew over the courtyard and down after the falling girls. The two girls flew down through the dark clouds at high speed, the wind whistling past them as Luna was still unaware of what was going on around her. Her mind was shot, her senses having shut down, and her body was unresponsive to anything.

The three winged minions flew down through the clouds quickly, the dark monsters looking ahead with their red eyes as they chased after the two girls. When they broke down through the clouds they were over the sky above the human world. The sky was starting to turn to dusk while below a human city was seen.

Luna was held by her rescuer, then let go and fell alongside her as they raced down through the sky. The other girl reoriented herself to look up at the three chasing monsters while falling backwards. Although Luna was freefalling next to her she wasn't aware she was even in the sky or that someone was next to her. She didn't notice the girl dressed in dark shoes, black jeans, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket. She didn't notice the parachute strapped to the girl's back while she grabbed her two handguns. She didn't see the girl's long light green hair or glaring blue eyes.

And she didn't hear her voice as the girl took aim at the chasing monsters.

"Fuck you!" Felucia yelled out as she started firing up at the airborne dark minions. The bullets flew up at high speed as the winged monsters weaved around. One of the demons was pelted and jerked about, then spiraled in his freefall as he was shot dead by the girl. The other winged demon took a few shots to the wings and spiraled out of control with a roar. The remaining minion eyed the girl closely as bullets whizzed past him.

_She's not from this world, she's just a disembodied soul. Where the hell did she come from?_

Felucia fired off all her rounds then growled as she saw she only killed one of the monsters, which was tumbling around still above her, clipped the wings of the second, which caused it to spiral around wildly as it roared in anger, and miss the third one which was getting closer to her.

"Well, this is going to end roughly." she muttered as she tossed her empty guns aside and grabbed Luna, the two girls freefalling down towards an industrial district of a human city. The dark minion behind her flew down and grabbed onto her foot, the girl looking back and trying to kick the monster away.

"I don't know how you got up there, but this is the end of the line for you." He growled. He then watched with puzzlement as Felucia unbuckled her parachute and quickly strapped it to Luna. The girl secured the pack to the chronofly then looked back to the dark monster with a glare.

"Sorry, but I've got work to do still." She said as she yanked on the cord to the pack. The parachute deployed and the chronofly was halted in her fall, the girl flying up past Felucia and the minion while the two other demons tumbled past her. The dark minion looked up with surprise then smiled wickedly at the girl he was holding.

"Ha! You idiot, you couldn't have made it easier for me to kill you and reclaim her. Just how do you expect to survive the fall now?" He laughed. Felucia smirked, then reached back and grabbed the monster's pincers, the girl then lifting herself up and bashing the monster in the face with her knee. He staggered a bit as the girl grabbed onto his head and spun around to his back, the girl then holding her hands over his eyes as she held onto him. She dug her fingers into his eyes as he screamed out in pain, the monster spiraling around as they closed in on a warehouse down below. She then reached out and grabbed his wings and snapped them back, the monster then spiraling out of control towards the ground below.

"Oh don't worry about me, I've done this bit before." She said with a laugh before they crashed through the roof of the warehouse, the two other demons then crashing in after them. Through the rafters and support beams the three winged monsters tumbled down through before crashing into a few parked cars, the warehouse having two floors with dozens of cars parked inside of it. The monsters crushed in and tore through the metal chassis' of a few vehicles before crashing through the concrete floor and into the ground level of the large structure. The concrete floor above caved in around the impact zone as mangled cars and wreckages dropped down with concrete and steel beams, the area kicking up a dust cloud as the sounds echoed out inside the building. As the dust cleared Luna slowly floated down on her parachute, the girl dropping into the building before her chute got caught in the torn roof. She stopped and gently swung there as the girl was still unresponsive to all that was around her.

From under the pile of concrete and destroyed cars two winged monsters burst out with feral roars. One had its eyes gouged out and its wings broken while the other's wings were ripped from bullet holes while a large steel beam was going through its shoulder.

"AH! Damn that bitch!" the eyeless monster yelled as the other demon grabbed the steel beam in his shoulder and started pulling it out. It yanked it out and tossed it aside before the ceiling above him gave out and collapsed down, the concrete and cars above falling down and crushing the monster with a loud crash. The other minion stumbled back as dust kicked up around the area while he held a hand over his wounded eyes.

"You may have wounded me girl, but I'll be leaving this place alive still with the chronofly." He said as he growled and looked around shakily. He held a hand over his eyes and the sockets started to burn and seal up with smoke coming from them. After a moment he removed his hand to show his eyes having been cauterized. The minion looked around as his visual senses were reduced to an energy signature, the monster seeing the faint glimmer of outlines around him while seeing the other two demons' fading auras nearby. He looked up and saw Luna's lifeforce swinging around gently from near the roof.

"I don't need my eyes to see the world around me girl, you think a lowly soul like yourself could have stopped me?" he laughed out.

"Actually, I do." Felucia's voice came from behind. The minion spun around and saw the girl's lifeforce flickering around in front of him. He saw the girl's body outlined by her aura as she stood up and stretched out, with a cracking sound echoing out.

"How…how could you have survived that?" the minion said as he shook his head. He saw her lifeforce waver around her, however there was a solid spike of her aura coming from her wrist in a bright glow to his senses.

"What…what the hell are you?" the minion said as he backed up a bit. The girl's outline looked down as she grabbed something sticking out of her chest, the girl pulling out a broken steel beam from her body with a slick crunch. The minion watched as the glow from her wrist sent out a strange wave of light through her body, with the pulse washing around the area where she pulled the object out of herself. She then geared back and thrust forward, the girl impaling the skull of the minion with the bloody beam that was driven through her heart a moment ago.

Felucia glared at the minion as she let go of the beam and the monster dropped dead in front of her, the girl standing upright and in one piece despite having crashed through the roof, a car, the concrete floor, and another car before the steel wreckages from above fell down and crushed her lower body with a jagged steel beam jamming down into her heart.

"Just another soul passing through." She said before looking up at Luna, the chronofly still in a state of shock as her eyes were dull and her body was unresponsive.

"Oh god, Luna." Felucia said as she raced up to roof of the warehouse, the girl pulling the chronofly back up and holding her in her arms as she knelt down. She looked with devastation at the chronofly's body, her skin having bruises on her hips and rear while she had the demons' semen on her in some areas still.

"Luna…I'm so sorry…" Felucia said as she saw more of the white liquid dripping from the girl's womanhood. She held the girl close and whimpered then looked at her with worry.

"Don't worry, I'll get you help. I promise Luna, I'll get you to the others." She said as she looked around quickly. Police sirens were heard nearby as authorities were responding to a disturbance in the warehouse district of the city. She took off the spent parachute from the girl and lifted her up, then glanced to her own wrist and looked at the glowing green and bluish band.

"I need to hurry, not much time left." She said before looking around with a focused gaze. As she did Luna remained motionless in her arms. Her eyes weren't focusing on anything. Her wings were limp behind her. Her hearing wasn't picking up any sounds.

And her bracelet was still dark and void of any magical energy.

* * *

Inside the HDA command center a large group of monsters were seen around the body of a dead dragon, the beast having its wings and tail hacked off while it was cut and sliced all over. The inside of the large chamber above the lowered holding cells was in ruins, with scorch marks and melting steel around the area, a large torn hole through the steel gateways below from the dragon's emergence, and one of its walls torn down showing the courtyard outside that had small patches of fires still going while HDA soldiers and vehicles were scorched and mangled around the area. Sirens and gunfire echoed out inside the building as other monsters were still running loose while sirens were heard outside as well from HDA and local officials gathering around the building. However inside the large chamber all was silent as the group stared with shock and disbelief at something.

"W…what did she just say?" Moka said tilting her head a bit.

At long last the group of monsters had been reunited, with the ones that were captured by HDA soldiers earlier that day freed from their captivity while two other groups had found them as they each tried to mount a daring rescue.

"Did…she just say…what I think she just said?" Yukari said with a confused expression.

With the convergence of all these monsters came several reencounters as well. One of which was with Gin meeting an old friend from the academy, the siren Sun who displayed a great deal of relief and joy at seeing him again. Of course Kokoa wasn't as thrilled as much as she was filled with rage at seeing the siren getting extremely close to her mate.

"I think…she did." Kurumu said with wide eyes.

Another was with the dragon slayer Ceal and the newly freed yasha Fang Fang, with the two apparently having had a rocky history as the yasha's father had gone back on the deal for Ceal killing a dragon for his family. The catalyst mage was about to kill the frightened boy out of spite before another issue came up.

"Um…" Ahakon said unsurely as he raised an eyebrow.

The group of monsters were also introduced to two others, two monster children who were actually dead. To their complete surprise they saw the young chronofly Complica Cii and the snow angel Arial Kuyumaya with their own eyes, something that not only took them by surprise, but rendered Dark and Mizore in shock at seeing the very snow girl that freed the shadow demon so long ago.

"She just called Dark…her…" Rason said shaking his head. Mizore blinked then looked at the snow angel with complete bewilderment as the group saw Arial kissing Dark on the ground…after declaring him to be her husband.

Arial leaned back and sat up on the boy as he stared at her with wide eyes, the demon showing complete surprise for the first time. Though whether he was surprised more about seeing the girl that freed him or the fact that she just kissed him like that was unknown.

"Finally we can be together again Dark, just like I always dreamed of." She said happily. Dark blinked then slowly glanced over to Rason.

"Am…I dead?" he asked unsurely. The group slowly shook their heads while staring at the snow angel with disbelief.

"Did…she just call me…" Dark said looking back to Arial. The group slowly nodded as they continued to stare at the girl. She smiled brightly then hugged the boy tightly, the girl nuzzling her head against his cheek.

"I finally found my husband! It's a dream come true!" she cheered out.

Silence.

"What…the…hell." Rason said looking to Gabriel. Mizore just stared at the snow angel in shock, the girl not sure how to react to any of what she was seeing or hearing. Fang Fang blinked and tilted his head curiously.

"Wait a minute, I thought this Dark fellow was engaged to the snow maiden here." He said looking to Mizore.

"NO!" Render, Leon, Apoch, Astreal, Kokoa, Gin, Ruby, Razico, Gabriel, and Complica cried out while Sun shook her head franticly. The others looked to them with surprise as Ceal shook his head.

"One more word out of you yasha and I'll kill you where you stand." He said coldly. Fang Fang looked around surprised as Arial sat up again. She looked at the boy cautiously as the others looked back to her with fright.

"Oh no…" Complica breathed out as she backed up. Sun and Gin backed up as Kokoa grabbed Moka's hand and pulled her back as well, the vampire looking at her sister with wonder then back to Arial. Gabriel took Rason by the arm and backed him up while Apoch and Astreal grabbed Kurumu's hands and pulled her back as well. Render pushed back Yukari and Ahakon as Leon backed Ran away from the snow angel. Ceal merely glanced to Mizore who was still staring at Arial with wide eyes.

"What did you just say?" Arial said as her eyes seemed to turn a bit colder.

"What's going on?" Moka asked worriedly. Fang Fang looked around worriedly then back to Arial.

"I just said that-" he started before Gin and Kokoa ran over and clamped their hands over his mouth.

"Nothing, he didn't say anything Arial." Kokoa said with a large nervous smile.

"Yeah, he's crazy, don't listen to him. Really." Gin said nodding franticly.

"What's going on?" Rason said worriedly. Arial slowly stood up as Dark continued to look up at her with wide eyes.

"What did you just say? You thought my Dark was _engaged _to somebody?" she said as walked closer to the yasha. Fang Fang glanced to Kokoa and Gin as they shook their heads franticly.

"No! He never said that, really." Kokoa said nervously.

"What are you talking about, Mizore's going to be his wife and-" Kurumu started before she was knocked straight down to the ground from Apoch and Astreal smacking the girl downside her head.

"Ms. Kurumu shut up!" Apoch cried out. Astreal looked at the dazed succubus with worry then over to Arial, the snow angel glaring towards them.

"Mizore?" she said coldly as her eyes narrowed.

"No! There's nobody by that name, really! Don't listen to her, she's out of her mind!" Astreal pleaded as she waved her hands around franticly. Moka's group glanced to each other then over to Mizore who was watching the snow angel with worry now. Arial looked at Astreal with a cold stare then over to Complica, the chronofly trembling with a frightful expression.

"What are they talking about?" the snow angel asked as she walked closer to her friend.

"Please Arial…calm down." Complica squeaked out as she backed up a step. Kurumu jumped back up and rubbed her head with an annoyed expression.

"What was that for?" she barked out. Arial walked closer to Complica and narrowed her eyes.

"What are you hiding from me?" she asked slowly. Complica trembled then vanished, the girl appearing away from the snow angel and behind Razico as a trial of distortion rippled from the chronofly's path through time. Arial blinked then looked over to her, then around at the group.

"Arial calm down, now isn't the time for this." Gabriel pleaded. Arial glanced to him then looked around at the group.

"Who is this…Mizore?" she asked with a low growl. Dark slowly stood up and looked at the angel with wide eyes still as Mizore glanced to Kokoa, the vampire motioning with her head towards the nearby door quickly.

"Run…run…" she hushed out through a forced smile. Mizore looked at her with worry then to Arial. Complica backed up worriedly from the warlock as she stared at the snow angel with fright. Before she got far Arial stomped down on the ground with one foot, the strike causing an erratic snow line to race from the impact, around the side of the group, then towards Complica. The snow line jettisoned up into large ice shards and created a wall behind the chronofly as the group looked over with surprise. Complica looked back to it then to Arial as the snow girl walked closer to her. Ruby and Razico backed away as snow formed under Arial and crept towards the chronofly.

"Holy shit." Rason said as he saw the massive wall of ice appear out of nowhere. Mizore stared with wide eyes and an open mouth, her lollipop almost falling out as Dark just kept his eyes on Arial with disbelief.

"Arial…please…" Complica said with a few tears starting to form.

"Who is Mizore?" Arial asked as ice spread out from her feet towards the chronofly, then shot up around the girl's feet holding her. Complica looked down to it as she shivered then back to Arial with fright.

"Nobody, I swear. Please, stop this Arial." Complica pleaded as she trembled in the ice's grip. Mizore looked at the snow angel then over to Apoch and Astreal, the witches waving to the door with frightful expressions.

"Run. Run. Run." they whispered out franticly. Mizore looked at them worriedly then over to Arial as the snow angel walked up to Complica.

"Who is Mizore?" she asked sternly.

"Nobody! There is no Mizore!" Complica cried out.

"Don't lie to me Complica! What are you hiding from me? Who is Mizore?" Arial yelled out with fury. Complica looked at her nervously and a few tears dropped from her cheeks. She hesitated for a moment then gulped with fear.

"Dark's…girlfriend." She squeaked out with a cringe. Arial blinked and looked at the girl carefully for a moment as everybody else glanced to Mizore. After a long pause the snow angel smirked then chuckled a bit.

"This isn't a very good joke Complica, Dark doesn't have a girlfriend." She said with a small laugh. Complica trembled as her mouth quivered a bit while the ice around her slowly receded. Arial looked at her carefully then back to Gabriel.

"Right?" she asked expectantly. Everybody looked to Gabriel as he flinched a bit.

"Well…" he said slowly. Arial looked at him for a moment then narrowed her eyes.

"Dark doesn't have a girlfriend, the elders told me so. _You_ told me so. Right?" she said sternly.

"Gabriel? What's happening here?" Rason asked worriedly.

"Gabriel. Right?" Arial asked sternly as she started walking towards him. He glanced away and rubbed the back of his head slowly.

"Um…about that Arial…" he said slowly. Arial stopped and just looked at him with a careful eye.

"Dark's old girlfriend died during the Fairy Tale attack, all the elders told me this story up in heaven. That's what happened, right?" she said with anger. Everybody looked to each other then Mizore, the snow girl looking at her with bewilderment still. She slowly looked at the snow angel worriedly then to Gabriel, the boy showing a worried expression and looking back to Arial.

"That's not…entirely accurate Arial." He said slowly. Arial stared at him for a moment then started walking towards him.

"What do you mean _not accurate_? Dark doesn't have a girlfriend. He's not engaged to anybody. Tell them Gabriel, tell them." She said as ice started to form around her and creep towards the angel. He looked at her nervously as her hair frosted over.

"Gabriel…" she said with a low growl.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kurumu said shakily.

"Gabriel, tell them!" Arial yelled out. Gabriel gulped and shook his head with a remorseful expression. Arial stopped and looked at him with wonder as the angel looked down with closed eyes.

"I'm sorry Arial, but…we had to change the story. You were out of control, we needed to calm you down." He said softly. Arial looked at him for a moment then looked back to Complica, the chronofly nodding with a remorseful expression.

"What is this? I don't believe you, all the elders said she died in that attack. She's dead!" Arial yelled out as she looked back to Gabriel. The redheaded angel slowly shook his head as the snow angel looked at him with disbelief. Arial looked at him for a moment then over to Dark.

"Tell them…tell them there isn't anybody else. Tell them Dark!" she cried out. The group looked to Dark as he just stood there, his eyes still locked onto Arial as he remained silent. After a moment the boy wavered a bit then collapsed down, with everybody looking at him with surprise.

"Oh…my…god…" Moka said covering her mouth.

"Did…he just faint?" Yukari said in shock.

"Is that even possible?" Rason said with wide eyes.

"Holy crap, he's out cold." Kurumu said with surprise.

"I don't believe it." Gin said with wide eyes.

"Dark…passed out." Kokoa said in disbelief.

Arial looked at the boy then ran over to him, the girl kneeling down next to him and trying to wake him up with disbelief. Everybody just stared at the shadow demon as they had just witnessed for the first time ever the boy literally passing out from the shock. She stopped then slowly looked back to Gabriel.

"You…you lied to me?" she said with anger, the girl's eyes turning into a cold glare.

"Arial please, try to understand. You were out of control, we had to calm you down before you froze over heaven." Gabriel pleaded.

"Froze over heaven?" Moka said with surprise.

"You lied to me? You mean some other woman's been around _my_ Dark all this time and you never told me?" Arial screamed out with rage, the ground around her flash freezing as ice spires shot up around her. A cold wind flew around her as the group backed up worriedly.

"What is with this girl anyway?" Ran said nervously.

"She's crazy." Kokoa said with fear.

"She's obsessed with Dark, like off the deep end kind of obsessed." Gin said worriedly.

"And she's got a bad temper. Really bad." Ruby said nervously as she and Razico stepped back. Arial yelled as she stomped her foot down, the girl creating a frozen blast of ridges and cracks that shot out around her. The group watched as the ground behind Gabriel and Rason blasted up into giant ice spires and shards, the two angels looking back to it with wide eyes then to Arial who was screaming with anger.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Rason cried out.

"She's in love with Dark, she's been obsessing over him ever since she died. She thinks they're destined to be together!" Gabriel cried out as the group watched Arial yell with fury. Moka's group looked to him with surprise then back to Arial.

"What? She's in _love_ with him?" Moka cried out. Mizore looked at Arial with shock at hearing that, the snow girl still unable to think of what to say or do about the situation.

"How can she be in love with him? That's crazy!" Kurumu cried out as ice covered the area around the raging snow angel.

"You really haven't noticed how she's being completely irrational and obviously out of her freakin' mind?" Render called out. Arial yelled out into the air then looked at Gabriel with fury.

"Where is this girl? Where is Mizore?" she yelled out with glowing white eyes. Mizore looked at the snow angel with surprise as Dark was out cold on the ground still, the boy overwhelmed with seeing his guardian angel in person. Arial screamed as she stomped her foot down, the girl jettisoning a giant ice shard into the air…through the dead dragon's skull.

"Holy fuck!" Rason cried out. Ceal looked at the ice spire with surprise then over to the snow girl.

_Impossible, how could ice be that strong?_

"She…she tore right through the dragon with her power!" Kurumu said with shock.

"It can't be, even when dead a dragon's body is extremely durable." Fang Fang said turning a bit pale.

"How can ice be that strong to go through a dragon?" Ahakon cried out gripping his hair. Mizore looked at the impaled body of the dragon then over to Arial with wide eyes.

_Her control over the ice…it's unreal. It's impossible._

"WHERE IS MIZORE?" Arial yelled out as the ground around her erupted into ice spires that shot around her. The group watched her scream then glanced to Mizore. The snow maiden felt her arm being pulled and looked to seeing Complica trying to pull her away.

"Run, hurry, you have to get out of here." She pleaded quickly. Mizore looked at her with a stunned expression then over to Arial as the snow girl was yelling out into the air.

"Arial stop this!" Gabriel called out.

"How can she be that strong? She's just a kid!" Rason yelled out.

"She's a disembodied soul, she doesn't have any physical limitations on her power. There may be no limit to what she could do with her monster energy in this state!" Ruby cried out as the group watched Arial roar out in anger.

Flying over the city a fighter jet soared through the skies towards its target. Under the craft two bay doors opened and a sleek black and red missile was lowered down with holding clamps.

"This is Hawk 2, I'm starting my run, approaching designated target zone at south end of the HDA command center." the pilot called out into his radio.

The group watched with wide eyes as the raging snow angel yelled into the air, with multiple ice shards shooting up around her. Her monster energy was beyond massive, the girl exuding a great deal of power around her in her rage. Complica tugged on Mizore's arm repeatedly as the snow maiden watched Arial with a stunned expression. Arial yelled out then looked over to Complica.

"You knew, didn't you? You knew all along some other girl was after my demon, and you never told me! I thought you were my friend! How could you lie to me all this time?" she yelled. Complica looked at her with fright as Mizore just stared with unblinking eyes.

"Arial…I'm sorry…please, we just had to calm you down. There was no other way to make you stop freezing everything in heaven, you were out of control. We wanted to tell you the truth, really, we just never could with…your…temper." Complica said shakily. Arial growled loudly as she walked towards them.

"My temper?" she said as her hands froze over into claws.

"My _temper_?" she said through bared teeth. She stomped down with her foot causing ice spires to erupt around the area, the girl growling with rage.

The jet launched the missile and banked off to the side, the projectile then flying forward with a powerful thrust towards the HDA command center.

"You haven't seen my _temper_, but you're sure as hell going to unless you tell me where this Mizore girl is right now!" Arial yelled out as the ground around Complica shifted up into ice shards and spikes. The chronofly looked around worriedly as Mizore stared with shock at the snow angel.

_This is the girl that freed Dark? This is the girl that he dedicated his life to?_

"Arial stop, please!" Complica cried out.

The missile flew at high speed towards the command center, the projectile being seen by people down below in the streets.

"Where is she? Tell me now Complica!" Arial yelled out with anger. Complica trembled as Arial glared at her. She always knew her friend had a bad temper when it came to her shadow demon, and she was a bit frightened as the snow angel's rage was being directed at her now. The chronofly tried to keep her eyes looking forward with all her might, but glanced quickly to the side then back again out of fear. Arial looked at her carefully then slowly over to Mizore, the snow maiden staring at her with shock.

"Oh no…" Ruby said with fear.

Sandra was in her car watching the command center down the road ahead of her with worry, the girl sitting in her car still as she waited for her friends to return. She glanced to her rearview mirror and spotted a gleam in the sky moving towards the area.

"You?" Arial said as she looked at the snow maiden carefully.

"Oh…crap." Render said flatly.

"Mizore run!" Kokoa cried out, the group looking to her then to Arial as the snow angel's eyes widened a bit.

"What is that?" Sandra said looking back behind her.

"You…you're the girl?" Arial said with anger. Mizore glanced around at the rest of the group as they were keeping their distance from the swirling torrent of chilled air around the snow angel.

The missile flew over Sandra's car above the street and raced towards the command center as the human girl watched with surprise.

"Oh…shit!" she cried out.

"You think _my_ demon belongs to you?" Arial yelled out with cold white eyes. Mizore stood there in stunned silence as a swirl of arctic air flew around the raging snow angel. After a pause Mizore slowly nodded.

"…yeah." she said quietly. Arial started growling loudly as the ground around her was freezing solid. Complica looked at her with fright then over to the side, the girl screaming as she pointed to something. The group looked over and saw a missile streaking towards the opening from down the street.

"AHH!" Kurumu cried out as she watched with wide eyes. Apoch and Astreal gasped and raised their barriers as did Ruby, the walls of light only covering a small amount in front of the large group of monsters.

"We can't shield everybody!" Astreal cried out.

"We're all going to die!" Ran cried out as she ducked down and covered her eyes.

"Everybody run!" Razico yelled out.

"Where? There's no time!" Leon shouted as the missile flew over the outer perimeter wall of the compound. Arial glanced over to it and yelled out with fury, the snow angel switching her focus from the snow maiden towards the incoming threat that would harm her demon. She yelled out and waved her arm fiercely towards the opening in the side of the building, the snow angel throwing all her rage into her power. In doing so a massive wall of frozen ice shards erupted from the ground and blasted upwards towards the opening, the wall of ice expanding out as it crashed through the opening's edges and completely obscured the view outside with layers of solid ice.

"Oh my god…" Moka said with wide eyes as the group watched what appeared to be a frozen mountain of ice jettisoning up from the ground out of nowhere. Mizore stared with wide eyes at the sheer amount of ice created by the young angel.

_Impossible…how can she create so much so quickly?_

The missile struck into the frozen wall of ice as it flowed out of the building like a cascading wave and detonated into a powerful explosion with a bright flash. A deafening bang echoed out as the outer courtyard was blasted apart by a fierce shockwave. The concrete barrier at the edge of the courtyard was demolished as the ground was torn apart. The massive wall of frozen shards and spires cracked and shattered apart, the force from the explosion blasting the broken shards back into the chamber. The large chunks of ice and snow crashed into the adjacent wall along with others crushing down onto the ground around the group. Everybody stared with wide eyes as outside a bright light was seen before frost and smoke swirled around wildly.

The fighter jet flew around the area and looked to seeing the building standing properly still while the missile appeared to have detonated outside in the courtyard.

"What the…it stopped?" he said with puzzlement.

Inside the building the group was staring with amazement as white smoke and frost flew around outside as the sky started to turn darker above.

"I don't…believe it." Kokoa said with awe.

"She blocked a missile…with nothing but her ice." Ruby said with astonishment.

"She blocked the entire explosion and shockwave." Leon said as the group looked back to Arial. The snow girl was facing towards the opening as her wings were arched back, the girl having her hands frozen over into claws still with one being held out towards where she launched a great deal of her power. Her eyes were glaring still as her teeth were bared, the girl's lollipop stick held in place between her teeth securely.

"Arial…my god…how did you…" Yukari said looking back to the opening where white smoke and frost flew about still.

"She saved us, she saved us all." Moka said with wonder. Complica looked at her friend with wonder as well. The young chronofly remembered how Arial lost her temper up in heaven, the resulting snowstorm having frozen over a great deal of the monster's heavenly city as her ice was nearly unstoppable. It was no secret to the young chronofly that Arial was indeed a powerful force when angered, however it appeared that even back in the human world her power was still just as strong.

"Arial…that was…incredible." Gabriel said looking back out to where the snow girl's power stopped a lethal strike from wiping everybody out. Mizore looked at the sight of frost and snow flurries flying around with the white smoke then looked to Arial.

"Arial…" she said softly. Arial lowered her arm and looked down a bit as her hair was still frozen over, the girl growling quietly to herself. Mizore walked over towards her and looked at the girl with wonder. Slowly Arial glanced back to her with narrowed eyes. Mizore looked at her with amazement then over to the broken wall.

"That was unbelievable Arial, I don't know how you-"

In a flash Arial spun around and yelled out with anger. The group watched with shock as blood splattered off to the side.

"Mizore!" Kurumu cried out as the snow maiden staggered back, the girl looking down with wide eyes as Arial had slashed across her gut with a fierce strike. Before she could move Arial swung around again with her other claw, the angel slicing through Mizore's stomach and splattering blood off to the other side.

"NO!" Gabriel yelled out as Mizore fell back onto the steel ground, the snow girl's eyes wide as her lollipop fell out of her open mouth. Arial screamed out with rage as she swung down again, the girl tearing through Mizore's chest with her ice claws before she hacked again with her other claw, the snow angel mercilessly attacking the shocked snow girl. Mizore coughed out blood and cried out in agony as the snow angel viciously clawed at her.

"Arial NO!" Complica cried out as Arial savagely swiped again and again, the snow angel having pure rage in her eyes as she clawed again and again at Mizore. Her eyes were filled with fury, her attacks swift and relentless, and only one thought was in her mind as Mizore's blood splattered on the ground around her.

"DARK IS MINE FOREVER!"


	8. A Rough Day

"Mizore!" Moka cried out as the group watched with horror at the sight before them.

At long last the three groups of monsters had reunited, with two of the groups having staged separate and daring rescues on their part while the other group managed to free themselves from HDA control and isolation inside the fortified command building.

"No!" Kurumu screamed as the group saw blood and torn flesh splattering across the ground.

They had managed to fend off armed human personal, the sudden appearance of an obsidian dragon from the dark world, and even survived a missile attack at the last possible moment. Not only did they meet new and strange companions that had come to their aid in the interest of escaping HDA oppression, but they also met two young monsters that had defied the laws of life itself by returning to the mortal world.

"What is she doing?" Yukari screamed as she grabbed her hat with fear.

To the shock of everybody there they had met the wandering souls Arial Kuyumaya and Complica Cii, the two well-known children who died long ago. Such shock in fact that Dark had actually passed out from seeing the girl that set him free standing before him again. Although the young chronofly angel was shown to be gentle and timid with the group while wishing to return to heaven above, the snow angel was an entirely different case.

"Arial STOP!" Gabriel yelled out as he ran towards the snow angel, the young girl attacking a severely wounded Mizore with fire in her eyes.

The snow angel had only one prominent desire and goal in her mind ever since she returned to the human world; to find the shadow demon that she was obsessed with. Although the two rescuing groups had attempted to keep the temperamental angel from meeting the demon again she had at long last found her loved one. Of course in meeting him she also found out something else, something that the two rescuing groups had wanted to prevent as they were warned, and saw firsthand, how the young snow angel could become when angered or upset. She found out that Dark was currently with another girl, Mizore.

Something that didn't sit too well with her.

"HE'S MINE!" Arial screamed as massive ice spires shot up all around the group, the girl swiping one last time through Mizore's body before Gabriel grabbed her and yanked her away by the shoulders. Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari screamed as they ran over to Mizore, the snow girl lying on the ground with wide eyes of shock while blood was coming from her open mouth. Her body and torso was hacked and slashed apart as her blood was all over the ground around her, the girl having been viciously clawed by Arial.

"Mizore!" Moka cried out as the she dropped down and looked at her friend with fright. The snow maiden coughed out blood and cried out hoarsely as she shakily looked over to the vampire, the girl unable to move or speak coherently.

"Holy shit, she tore her to pieces!" Rason cried out as the group looked at the ravaged snow maiden. Moka looked at her friend's wounds with horror and shook her head.

"Yukari! Ahakon! Heal her, quick!" she cried out looking to them.

"Heal her? Are you insane, I can't heal that!" Ahakon said shaking his head.

"Your vampire blood won't even heal that, she's torn to shreds!" Yukari cried out with tears forming.

"Oh god, Mizore!" Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth. The group looked at the mortally wounded snow woman then over to Arial, the snow angel thrashing around in Gabriel's grip as the boy was looking at Mizore with a pained expression.

"Let me GO! LIKE HELL SHE'S GOING TO TAKE MY DARK FROM ME!" Arial screamed as more jagged spires of ice shot up around the group. Kurumu looked at the snow angel with disbelief and wide eyes, then growled with fury.

"You…YOU BITCH!" she roared as she ran towards the snow girl with her nails extending out. She swung towards the girl before she collided against a barrier of light.

"No Ms. Kurumu, you can't kill her!" Apoch pleaded as she looked at Mizore with tears forming in her eyes, the witch holding a hand out to keep the succubus from tearing Arial limb from limb.

"Like hell I can't, just you watch me! How dare you attack my friend like that you little bitch!" Kurumu yelled as she pounded on the barrier of light with tears forming in her eyes.

"Mizore!" Moka cried out as she shakily held her hands over the snow girl's body. Mizore coughed out more blood as she trembled, the girl in unbearable pain and unable to move.

"LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HER! NOBODY TAKES MY DARK FROM ME!" Arial screamed as dozens of ice spires shot up around the group. Two of them struck through the dead dragon's arm and pierced through while others struck upwards near the group who looked around with worry.

"Somebody stop her, she'll kill us all!" Kokoa cried out holding her hands over her head as ice flurries and shards flew about. Arial screamed loudly as the area around the girl froze over. Gabriel yelled out as he stumbled back, the boy unable to bear the cold as he backed away from the girl with frost on his body. The group looked to her as the girl glared at Mizore with fury in her eyes, the wounded snow maiden shakily looking over and seeing the snow angel staring into her eyes.

"HE'S MINE FOREVER!" Arial screamed as she aimed her frozen claw at the snow girl.

"No!" Gabriel yelled as he looked back to Arial with wide eyes.

"Don't!" Moka cried out with fear.

"Stop!" Complica screamed as she started crying.

In a flash a bolt of fire flew past Arial's face, the girl halting in place then shrieking as the flame shot past her. The group watched her collapse as her claws retracted and her hair returned to normal. Everybody then looked to Razico as he lowered his hand, the warlock looking at Arial with remorse then over to Mizore. Kurumu blinked then yelled out as she tried to swing down towards the unconscious snow angel, the girl's nails once again hitting a barrier of light and stopping.

"What the hell Apoch, how can you protect her after what she did?" Kurumu yelled out looking to Apoch. The witch shook her head with sorrow then looked to Arial.

"Please Ms. Kurumu, you mustn't hurt her, you don't understand." she said shakily.

"I don't care! Look what she did to Mizore!" Kurumu cried out looking back the wounded snow girl.

"Mizore! Hold on, we'll…we'll fix this." Moka said shakily as she looked over the snow maiden's body.

**_How in the world are we going to fix this?_**

_Oh dear god, she's torn apart, what do we do?_

**_She's ripped apart completely, no magic in the world is going to fix this._**

"Mizore!" Yukari cried out as she looked at the girl's body with teary eyes. Rason looked with shock at his friend's condition then grabbed Gabriel by the neck and slammed him over against the body of the dragon again.

"What the HELL IS THIS?" He yelled out. Gabriel grabbed the angel's arms and tried to free himself while looking at the boy with remorse.

"Please…I'm sorry. Really, I wanted to avoid this, I really did." he pleaded. The rest of the group rushed over to Mizore as she was choking and coughing out blood.

"Holy crap her body's in ruin." Render said as the group saw the snow maiden's internal organs and ribs slashed and torn apart. The girl was at a hair of her lifeforce as her body was starting to shut down from the snow angel's onslaught.

"Mizore no!" Kokoa cried out dropping to her knees next to the ravaged snow maiden.

"Oh my god, she's been eviscerated." Ahakon said with a stunned expression.

"Somebody do something! Anything!" Moka cried out shaking her head.

"Do something? Like what, oh god we can't heal this." Yukari said as she trembled at the sight. Leon looked at the girl worriedly then over to Ceal.

"Ceal, hurry up and help her, please!" he called out. The group looked to Ceal who merely raised an eyebrow.

"What's he going to do, we can't heal this serious of an injury." Ahakon said shaking his head.

"Hurry Mr. Ceal, please put her back together." Apoch and Astreal pleaded quickly.

"Put her back…together?" Kurumu said as the group looked to Ceal with confusion. The boy rolled his eyes and glanced away.

"I've already done far more than enough for you people, and yet you ask for more?" he said flatly.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Moka said quickly as Mizore coughed out more blood and groaned in pain.

"C'mon kid, you put Falla and the witch sisters back together no problem, hurry up and do something." Razico said urgently.

"He did what? What are you talking about?" Yukari said looking around at the group.

"Can you help her? Can you?" Moka asked quickly. The boy looked to her then to the snow maiden as her eyes were losing focus.

"I've already helped break your friends out of captivity _and_ slayed a dragon for you. I've done more than enough here." Ceal said shaking his head.

"C'mon man, don't let her die like this." Render said looking to Mizore.

"What's he going to do for her, she's torn to shreds." Yukari said shaking her head.

"Who cares, if you can do something then do it! Please!" Kurumu cried out.

"Ceal please, don't let one of Falla's friends die." Gabriel urged. Ceal growled then glanced to him with narrowed eyes.

"This snow maiden is not my responsibility angel, and I will not have Falla's feelings being used against me again. I've done more than enough here, I owe you all nothing." he said firmly. Complica ran over to him and grabbed his hand, the boy looking down to seeing the girl pulling on it repeatedly.

"Please Ceal, don't let her die! Please please please!" she begged. The boy growled quietly then looked to Mizore again.

"You can help her, we've seen you do this before. Please!" Kokoa begged.

"Do something, she's dying!" Apoch cried out as the snow maiden trembled a bit and slowly started to fall limp. Moka looked at the girl with watery eyes then to Ceal.

"Please, I'll pay anything you want, I'll do anything, just don't let her die! If you have the power to save her then I'm begging you to do so!" she cried out. Ceal glanced to her then to Mizore again with a blank expression. Sun and Fang Fang looked at the snow maiden with worry then over to Ceal. The boy glanced down to Complica as she was crying a bit.

"Please, you're not a bad guy, you can't be." she said softly.

"Please Mr. Ceal, you saved us when you were under no obligation." Apoch pleaded.

"Don't let our friend die, we're begging you." Astreal whimpered. The catalyst mage rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Please." Complica said with tears dropping from her cheeks. The mage paused then glanced down to her. After a moment he walked over to Mizore and looked down at her. He eyed her torn body carefully then shook his head, then glanced to Complica.

"After this, you will not ask me for more, understood?" he said in a commanding tone. The girl nodded quickly then looked back to Mizore with worry. Ceal glanced around at the group then looked down to Mizore with a careful eye.

"Her body is in ruin on the inside, I'll require more matter to rebuild what's been lost." he said simply.

"What are you talking about?" Rason said shaking his head. Render looked to the dragon then pointed to it with one of his swords.

"Use the dragon, that's gotta be more than enough organic matter right?" he said hopefully. Moka's group looked to the dragon with confusion as Ceal shook his head.

"It would, however the dragon's natural temperature would fry the snow girl from the inside out before it could be properly cooled. I would need matter that's not so naturally hot." he said simply.

"I don't understand, what is he talking about?" Yukari said shaking her head.

"What do you need? Tell us!" Razico called out with urgency.

"I just told you, I need matter to heal her body." Ceal said with a shrug. He then looked to Fang Fang with narrowed eyes.

"Perhaps you would be the one to make the noble sacrifice, it would be fitting that you do something proper with your life before you die." He said coldly. Fang Fang looked at him nervously and slowly shook his head.

"What…what are you talking about?" he asked worriedly.

"It's simple yasha, I need flesh. Bone. Blood. I need organic matter to transfer over to the snow maiden and regenerate her body. But I can't pull that matter out of thin air, somebody has to surrender that for her." Ceal said as his reptilian hand glowed a black hue. Moka's group looked at him with wonder as Rason slowly let go of Gabriel.

"What? What's he talking about?" Rason asked cautiously.

"Just what are you anyway?" Ahakon said looking at Ceal with wide eyes.

"He's a catalyst mage, he can transfer organic matter from one being to another. He can heal and mend any injury with his magic." Ruby said looking to Mizore with concern.

"He can?" Yukari said with surprise.

"So wait…you mean…in order to help her, one of us has to…" Kurumu said looking down to Mizore.

"Die." Ceal said glancing to her. Moka's group looked to him with surprise as the others looked down at Mizore with worry. Sun and Fang Fang looked at the mage with surprise as well before looking down to the wounded snow girl. Complica started crying and shaking her head while Dark and Arial were still unconscious on the ground.

"Die?" Moka said under her breath. Mizore coughed out a bit more blood and shakily looked to her with a strained expression, the girl feeling her body weakening and going numb.

"You wanted me to save her correct? Well I can only do that if I rebuild her body, and to do that I will need organic matter to do the job. So, which one of you wants to die for her?" Ceal said looking around at the group.

"Shit, you've got to be kidding me." Render said with frustration.

"One of us…has to die?" Yukari said trembling.

"He can't regenerate her body without more matter to transfer to her, and he needs a lot of matter to patch her up. Whoever he takes it from will die during the process." Ruby said with remorse. Everybody looked to each other with worry. They all wanted to save the snow girl, however in order to do so somebody would have to sacrifice their own body for Ceal to heal the snow maiden's serious injury.

"Then use Arial's, she did this to her!" Kurumu yelled out looking to the snow angel.

"Great, then Mizore will live and Dark will kill you for wiping Arial from existence." Ruby said shaking her head.

"Are you kidding me? Dark's precious angel just slaughtered Mizore in a fit of jealousy! Dark's not going to want to save her after what she did." Kurumu said sternly.

"Arial means the world to Dark, there's no telling how he's going to react hearing what she did. But if we completely wipe out Arial's soul I'm willing to bet he would be even more furious." Kokoa said with worry.

"You can't kill Arial, please!" Complica pleaded loudly.

"I need a volunteer now, she's about out of time." Ceal said looking down to Mizore, the girl struggling to keep her eyes open as she was looking up at the boy. Kokoa looked around then grabbed Sun by the arm.

"Use her then." she said sternly as she glared at the siren. Sun looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head as she tried to pull away.

"Oh yes you, you kissed my mate, you deserve to die." Kokoa hissed.

"Kokoa stop, please we're not killing her, she's not involved in this." Gin said urgently. Kokoa growled then glared at him.

"She kissed you!" she yelled out. Sun yanked free and backed up a bit as Kokoa glared at her with anger.

"We're running out of time, we need to make a decision now." Rason said looking back down to Mizore, the snow girl trembling a bit as mouth was dripping blood. Everybody fell silent as they thought about the choice of one of them sacrificing themselves to save the snow girl.

Sun looked at the snow girl worriedly then jumped a bit. She waved her hands around franticly in front of her as the group looked over to her.

"Sun? What is it?" Gin asked.

"About ready to atone for what you did?" Kokoa barked out as she gripped her giant morning star tightly. Sun looked at her with worry and shook her head then pointed towards the broken door out into the hall.

"What is she doing?" Rason asked as the siren looked to Gin then pointed franticly towards the door. The boy glanced to it then back to the siren. Sun grabbed her sketchpad and wrote something down quickly for him.

Outside there are HDA soldiers that Arial killed, can't we use them?

Gin read the pad then jumped a bit.

"Wait, that's right!" he said looking to the door.

"What's going on?" Ran said looking at the boy puzzled. Gin ran towards the door with haste as the group watched curiously. The boy ran out into the hall and picked up the soldier that Arial had clawed to death outside, then ran back into the chamber with the body over his shoulder. He ran up and dropped the body onto the ground next to Mizore as the group looked at it with wide eyes.

"Here, you can use this right?" Gin said hopefully.

"That guy's dead. Real dead." Ahakon said with wide eyes as he saw the diced skull and body of the man Arial had clawed in her rage.

"It doesn't have to be alive, just organic matter. He can use it to help her, right?" Leon said looking to Ceal. The catalyst mage looked at the body for a moment then nodded.

"That will do, yes." he said simply. He walked over and knelt down between Mizore and the dead HDA soldier, the entire group watching him with hopeful eyes as Mizore shakily looked over to him. He glanced to the dead body then over to the snow girl.

"Listen up snow girl." He said as he grabbed her hand with his normal one. The girl made a choking sound as a bit more blood dripped from her mouth while her head rocked a bit to the side. The boy looked to her with a cold stare then reached over with his reptilian hand and grabbed her by the jaw, then turned her gaze towards him.

"I said listen snow girl. I'm going to transfer the flesh and bone from this human to you, however in doing so the matter will be at a normal temperature for a human, not exactly ideal for a snow girl such as yourself. You need to focus on cooling your body as I recreate it, otherwise you'll die from your body cooking you from the inside out." He said firmly. The girl struggled to keep her eyes on him as the group watched with worry, everybody trying to ignore the boy's rather forceful and crude way of holding her. He paused for a moment then shook her head a bit.

"Do you hear me?" he said again. The girl trembled slightly as she tried to breathe, then slowly nodded. He then reached out and grabbed onto the dead body of the human next to him and looked at the snow girl's injury.

"Start cooling your body snow girl." He said as his hands glowed a white light. The group watched as a swirl of light slowly circled the body of the dead human in wisps as another swirl of light started to circle around Mizore's body. She shook a bit as she cried out hoarsely, the girl feeling pain shooting through her wounds along with a strange numbing sensation. The group watched as the human's body started to slowly rip and break down, the skin and bones appearing to wither and degrade as the body shifted around slowly. Ceal glanced to the snow maiden and shook his head a bit.

"Cool your body off snow girl, you're getting too warm." He cautioned.

"Focus Mizore, you have to cool your body down." Moka said kneeling down and holding the snow girl's other hand. Mizore coughed out and trembled as she tried to focus, the girl's mind blurry and unable to concentrate properly. The group watched as the torn organs and broken bones inside the girl's body started to glow and slowly regenerate right before their eyes.

"Oh my god…" Rason said as he and Gabriel watched with wide eyes.

Slowly the girl's internal body started to shift back into place, with bones seeming to re-grow and take form while flesh and veins grew and took shape.

"I don't believe it." Ahakon said quietly.

"He's…he's really doing it." Yukari said softly.

"I said cool your body now snow girl." Ceal said sternly. The group looked to him then to Mizore as the girl looked like she was screaming, her mouth open while her eyes were wide. She was making quiet short gasps as she clenched her hands tightly.

"Mizore, please you have to focus your power." Moka said worriedly.

"Hot…so hot…" Mizore coughed out as she trembled.

"Do it now, you're getting too warm." Ceal said as he looked to the girl's injury with a cautious glance. The matter forming in the girl's body was taking shape, however it wasn't cooled to a snow woman's proper internal temperature yet.

"Hurry Ms. Mizore, cool your body down. Focus." Apoch pleaded. Mizore cried out as she shook, the girl thrashing around as Moka and Ceal held onto her hands.

"Hold her down, the process isn't finished yet." Ceal said looking to Razico. The warlock ran over and knelt down by the girl's head, then held her shoulders down. Rason and Gabriel held the snow girl's legs down while the others watched worriedly.

"Mizore! Please Mizore, focus on cooling your body down!" Kurumu cried out.

"It's so hot! It's hot!" Mizore cried out as she thrashed around, the girl feeling like her body was on fire (which for a snow woman is a very big deal).

"Please Mizore, you have to try to cool yourself down." Ruby called out worriedly.

"We have much more to do before your body is healed, you need to cool yourself down now or else you will die long before I finish." Ceal said firmly. The girl kicked and thrashed around while being held down, her body feeling warmer to her by far and causing just as much pain as when it was ripped apart.

"Mizore! Please, you can do it!" Moka cried out as she held onto her friend's hand. She could feel Mizore squeezing her hand tightly, the snow girl crying out as the glow inside her open wound wavered.

"You need to do so now snow girl, if I go any further you'll go into shock." Ceal said as the glows around the two bodies faded slightly.

"You can do it Mizore, just concentrate." Yukari said hopefully.

"You can't let this beat you, you still have to marry Dark. Don't die on us, please!" Kurumu cried out.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help her?" Rason said as he and Gabriel continued to try to hold the snow girl's legs down.

"She needs to cool off her body angel. The matter I've regenerated for her needs to chill and adjust to its new host, otherwise it'll be at the same temperature that it was at before." Ceal said shaking his head. Mizore thrashed around and screamed, the girl's mouth dripping blood as her open wound started bleeding again.

"She's going to die at this rate, do something!" Kokoa cried out.

"I can't do anything until she cools down her body, she needs to bear through the pain and focus." Ceal said firmly.

"God! It's…so hot!" Mizore cried out as she trembled while being held down. Ran looked at the girl worriedly then rushed over next to Razico, the siren kneeling down next to the snow girl's head and holding her gently. She started to sing a soft quiet song into the snow girl's ear, the group looking as Ran was trying to keep her voice calm and gentle while Mizore was crying out in pain.

"What's she doing?" Render asked tilting his head. Sun watched the siren curiously as did the others, everybody watching as Ran sang a gentle song. Her words seemed to make everybody feel a bit more relaxed and calm, with Mizore slowly calming down and thrashing less as well. She looked at Ran with wide eyes as she tried to stop her screaming, the girl feeling her mind focusing a bit more with the siren's melody.

"I feel…pretty calm all of a sudden." Leon said looking around at the group.

"Yeah…me too." Astreal said curiously.

"It's her singing, she's calming us all down with it." Yukari said as she saw the siren using her magical voice to soothe the snow maiden's mind. After a moment she looked to Mizore with a small smile.

"Please Mizore, focus your mind now." she said gently. Mizore slowly nodded and looked to Ceal, the girl's mind tuning out the fact that she was ripped open at the moment. He nodded as he held her hand, the boy having the same focused expression still.

"Ran, that was incredible." Ahakon said with wonder. The siren glanced to him and smiled bashfully then looked back to Mizore. The snow girl closed her eyes and focused on cooling herself, the girl's monster energy causing the air around her to chill and the ground below her to slowly frost over. Ceal looked to the open wound as the lights once again swirled around the girl's body as well as the dead human's.

"How did she do that?" Fang Fang asked.

"She's a siren, she used her voice to calm us all down. Thank you Ran." Moka said looking to the girl. Ran smiled and nodded a bit.

"I thought that might help her out. My parents used to sing that song to me whenever me or my sisters got upset." she said softly. Sun looked at the girl with wonder and tilted her head a bit, then looked back to Mizore as the girl's body started to once again regenerate. The group watched as her bones and internal organs started to take form again while a glowing light flashed and swirled around the her open wound. Slowly the skin and flesh started to close up over the open wound as she slowly opened her eyes, the girl then leaning up a bit and watching with amazement as her mortal injury vanished before her eyes.

"How…" she said softly.

"Don't talk snow girl, and lie back down, we're not finished here yet." Ceal said simply as he kept his eyes on the girl's body. Mizore looked to him with wonder then slowly lay back down.

"It's working, her body looks as good as new again." Kurumu said with amazement. Complica watched with wonder then smiled a bit.

Near the group Dark's hand twitched and the boy shifted a bit while Arial remained motionless on the ground.

"Thank you Ceal, you saved her life." Ruby said graciously. The group looked to the boy as showed no reaction to that statement. He looked to the dead human's body which was collapsing down while crackling and shifting sounds were heard from the body breaking down from the boy's magic. After a moment he let go and brought over his reptilian hand to Mizore, the boy resting both hands then on her stomach.

"I need to finalize your circulatory system and critical organs. Don't move until I tell you to, understand?" he said glancing to her. She nodded as she watched the boy with wonder.

"Thank you…" she said softly. He glanced at her then started to slowly move his hands over her skin, the palms lighting up as he used his magic to finish reconstruction of the girl's insides. She felt a strange numbing sensation and a few cramps every now and then, but they quickly subsided and she felt no real pain.

"Mizore, you're ok." Moka said as she smiled and wiped a tear away.

"That was too close, we thought we lost you." Kurumu said kneeling down next to Moka and smiling at her friend. Rason and Gabriel stood up and smiled down at the girl as she watched Ceal use his magic to heal her body. Her sweater and undershirt were torn apart in the front, with her front body being naked and exposed. She looked at her exposed body then glanced around nervously before looking to Moka, the vampire jumping a bit then looking around as the boys in the group were now looking up. Render spun his blades around struck them down into the ground, then took off his checkered jacket.

"Here, um…don't want you running around like that after all." he said weakly as he held the jacket out. Kurumu smiled a bit and took it from him while Mizore smiled a bit as well.

"Thank you, um…what's your name anyway?" Kurumu asked.

"Render Asaga, nice to meet you. Um, even though this isn't really the ideal way of meeting new people." Render said while still looking up, the boy then grabbing his swords and yanking them back up again. Moka nodded and glanced around at the other new faces.

"Who…who are all of you anyway?" she asked curiously. The group then looked over as Dark started to get up, the boy holding his head and blinking a few times. He stood up and shook his head then looked around slowly.

"Dark, you ok?" Rason asked. The demon nodded a bit then glanced to him.

"Yeah...just a weird dream." he said. He then saw Complica standing there, the girl looking at him worriedly. Dark paused then slowly looked down to seeing Arial on the ground.

"Um…it wasn't a dream." Complica said worriedly. Dark just stared at the body of the snow girl that gave him life with wonder then looked to Gabriel. The angel showed a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well…it's a long…story." he said shakily. Dark looked at him carefully then over to seeing Mizore on the ground with the front of her body exposed…and with Ceal slowly moving his hands around her stomach and chest. Mizore glanced to Ceal then back to Dark with worry. The demon blinked then growled as the area around him turned darker. Rason looked back to Ceal then back to Dark while waving his hands around.

"Wait, it's not what it looks like man!" he said as Dark glared at the catalyst mage with fury.

"What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled as he marched up towards the boy while clenching his fists.

"Wait! Stop Dark! It's not what it looks like, really!" Gin cried out. Dark grabbed Ceal by the shoulder as he geared back with a fist, the group looking to him with surprise as Mizore watched with worry still. Ceal merely glanced over to him as he kept his hands down on the snow girl's bare skin.

"Don't hurt him, he saved her life!" Moka pleaded. Dark stopped and looked to her quickly, then back to Ceal as the mage was still focusing on his work.

"Don't interrupt him Dark, he's saving her." Kokoa said urgently.

"Saving her? How is _this_ saving her?" Dark yelled out with anger as he saw Ceal's hands moving just under Mizore's breasts then back down around her stomach.

"She was seriously injured, Ceal's healing her body." Gabriel said worriedly as the shadow demon was growling at Ceal. Dark glanced to him then back to Mizore.

"It's alright, don't hurt him Dark. It's true, he saved my life." Mizore said worriedly. Dark looked at her with concern as the area around him slowly returned to normal, then he looked to Ceal with a careful eye.

"Saved you from what Mizore?" he asked cautiously. The group glanced to each other worriedly then looked back to him as Mizore stuttered something.

"Um…well…" she said shakily. Dark looked at her carefully then to Ceal with narrowed eyes.

"Would you mind taking your hand off of me demon, or would you rather I removed it for you?" Ceal said coldly as he glanced to him.

"You have your hands on my Mizore's body and you think you're in a position to threaten me?" Dark said with anger.

"Seeing as how I'm the only one here that can keep her alive for you, yes." Ceal said simply.

"Please Dark, don't interrupt him, he saved her life." Yukari said worriedly.

"Saved her from what?" Dark asked sternly as he looked to the witch. She stammered something nervously as she backed up a step.

"I said, let go of my shoulder demon, unless you want your snow girl to die." Ceal said looking to Dark with cold blue eyes. Dark looked at him with a deep glare, the boy tightening his grip with frustration. After a moment he slowly let go of the mage's shoulder and narrowed his eyes at him. Ceal just looked at him for a moment then down to Mizore again.

"I have no desire for this snow girl at all demon, I'm only doing this at their rather persistent insistence." he said simply. Dark growled quietly then looked to Rason.

"What is going on here? Why is Arial unconscious…or even here at all for that matter? And why is my Mizore being treated like this?" he demanded. Rason glanced to Arial then to Mizore with worry.

"Um…well…" he said shakily.

"I'm going to need more than that Rason, now talk." Dark said sternly. Rason stammered something for a moment before Dark turned his eyes to Ceal again.

"She was seriously injured, she would have died if it wasn't for Ceal here." Moka said looking at the catalyst mage.

"Injured from what? What happened to my Mizore?" Dark said looking to the vampire with anger. Moka rubbed the back of her head nervously as she tried to think of what to say.

_How do we explain this? How do we tell him that Arial was the one that nearly killed Mizore?_

**_There's no telling if he'll even believe us, or what he might do. The girl that gave him life tried to kill the girl he loves._**

"Um…well…" Moka said slowly.

"I'm getting tired of hearing that response, now somebody tell me what happened to my Mizore!" Dark yelled out as the area around him flickered black for a moment from his aura. Everybody looked to each other then back to Dark with worry, all of them wondering what to say. Mizore glanced to Arial then back to Dark.

"I was shot." She said softly. The group looked to her as she glanced to the dead HDA soldier near her.

"Shot?" Dark asked carefully. Mizore nodded a bit and looked back to him with remorse. She knew lying to Dark was the wrong thing to do, but she just couldn't blame Arial for what happened, even though it was what really happened.

_If he hears his guardian angel did this it would crush him. Please Dark, forgive me for lying to you like this._

"He took us by surprise. I was seriously hurt before Ceal healed my body with his magic." She said softly. Dark looked at her carefully then over to the dead human.

"How did a single soldier get the jump on everybody here?" he asked looking back to Mizore. The snow girl blinked then glanced to Moka. The vampire looked at her then to Dark with a nervous expression.

"Well…we were a bit…distracted. Yeah, distracted, because…well, they're here." She said quickly before looking to Arial then to Complica. The chronofly jumped a bit and looked at Dark worriedly as the group glanced to each other. Dark looked at the young chronofly angel then to Arial with a careful eye. Kurumu looked around at the group then to Mizore.

"What are you talking about? You nearly died because of-" she started before Moka grabbed her and slapped a hand over the girl's mouth. Kurumu struggled to get free as the vampire smiled nervously.

"Because of…us letting our guard down. We were taken by surprise…to say the least. But we're ok now, we're _all_ ok now." She said glancing to Kurumu with a stern expression. The succubus looked at her with bewilderment as the group glanced to Mizore.

"Yeah…that's right." Kokoa said softly glancing to Gin with a cautious expression. The wolf slowly nodded before looking back to Mizore again.

"Yes…we're all…ok now." Apoch said softly as she nodded a bit. The group glanced to each other then to Dark, everybody knowing that the snow girl didn't want to tell Dark the truth about Arial just yet. Dark looked at Mizore carefully as the girl nodded a bit in agreement.

"I'm fine, really. He saved my life Dark." She said softly with a small smile. Dark smiled a bit briefly then glanced to Ceal. After a moment he looked around at the group then over to Arial. The demon slowly walked over to her as Moka let go of Kurumu's mouth and gently shook her head. Kurumu looked at her with disbelief then to Dark as the demon slowly kneeled down next to Arial.

"What is she doing here?" he asked softly as he gently held out a hand and brushed her hair. She was lying on the ground unconscious as her frosted wings shimmered a bit. He blinked then looked to Gabriel.

"Did…did she call me her…husband earlier?" he asked slowly. Gabriel glanced to the group then back to Dark.

"Is…is that what you…heard?" he asked cautiously. Dark looked down to Arial and shook his head.

"I'm not sure, she said something to me…but…" he said before he looked down again. He slowly brought up a hand to his mouth as his eyes moved around a bit in thought.

"She kissed me…I remember that." he said softly. He clearly remembered seeing the angel walking up to him, the boy stunned at seeing the snow girl that freed him long ago in person again. How she tackled him to the ground and looked at him with adoring eyes. She did say something at the time, however her words seemed to be a muffled echo in his mind as he was shocked to not only see her again but also from the girl kissing him suddenly. After that his mind tried to piece together what he was happening but was overwhelmed with actually seeing the girl that he dedicated his life to, and after the realization that Arial was indeed standing in front of him sank in the boy simply passed out.

"I remember the kiss…then…" he said shaking his head. He looked around at seeing ice and snow everywhere then back down to the snow angel.

"She was…saying something. But I don't remember what." he said holding a hand to his head. He remembered Arial talking to the group about something, yet her words didn't seem to register now. As soon as he had laid eyes on the snow angel his mind was struggling to focus as he was stunned to say the very least.

"He doesn't remember what happened." Moka whispered into Kurumu's ear. Mizore looked at Dark with a bit of wonder then to Arial.

_He only remembers the kiss…he doesn't know what she was saying to all of us._

Dark looked around then back down to Arial, then he slowly reached down and lifted her up into his arms. As he stood up he looked down at the snow angel with wonder, the girl sleeping peacefully in his arms as her wings swayed a bit below her.

"She's really here…I don't believe it." He said softly. He was actually holding the snow girl from that one fateful night, the same girl that set into motion his freedom and his new life.

"She, uh…really wanted to see you Dark." Gabriel said with a worried smile. Dark looked at the snow girl with wonder then over to Gabriel.

"What is she doing here? What is going on?" he said cautiously. Ceal glanced to him then looked down to Mizore again.

"A better question that needs to be explained is why those two young angels weren't returned to heaven like they were supposed to have been." he said before he looked over to Gabriel. The group looked to the angel as he showed a nervous expression.

"Um, well…" he said nervously.

"Why is Falla's sister still here angel?" Ceal said with a stern tone.

"Why are either of them here? How did they get here from heaven?" Rason said in disbelief.

"What did you mean they couldn't go back? What happened?" Ruby said shaking her head. Gabriel looked around nervously as all eyes turned to him, except for Ceal's as the boy was still working on healing Mizore.

"Um…I'm not sure we have time to discuss all this right now, we need to get out of here while we can." Gabriel said worriedly.

"We're not going anywhere right now angel." Ceal said, the group then looking to him as he was using his magic to rebuild Mizore's internal body with a careful eye.

"She can't move until I finish my work on her injury, I have to properly reconstruct all her vital organs and make sure they're in working order, so until then do enlighten us as to why you returned with both of those angels." he said as he glanced to Gabriel with narrowed eyes. Dark looked at Mizore with worry as the girl was lying on the ground with the front of her body exposed after she apparently was seriously wounded.

"How badly was she shot?" he asked with concern. Mizore glanced away worriedly as Ceal merely shrugged a bit.

"I'd say pretty badly." he said simply. He didn't really feel the need to correct Mizore's lie and quite frankly didn't care anyway. Dark looked at Mizore with worry then to Ceal.

"I see. Thank you…for helping her." he said after a pause. Ceal kept working on the snow girl's body without saying a word. Rason looked at Mizore with worry then to Gabriel.

"Ok Gabriel, what is going on here?" he asked cautiously. Everybody looked to the redheaded angel as he showed a worried expression. He glanced to Arial then to Complica then looked back to his comrade.

"Look, I'll explain everything to you all when we're safely out of here. A lot has happened friend, and…I'm afraid it's all bad news. I don't have time to explain everything right now." He said nervously.

"You will explain right now why Falla's sister is still here angel, otherwise when I'm done putting this girl back together I'll tear you apart." Ceal said coldly. Gabriel glanced to him then looked back to Rason with remorse.

"I'm sorry, but…they managed to sneak out of heaven." He said with a small shrug. There was a long pause as the group just looked at him for a moment.

"Sneak…out…of heaven?" Rason said slowly. He shook his head and walked up to Gabriel.

"What do you mean sneak out of heaven? How…how the hell can anyone _sneak_ out of heaven?" he cried out. Gabriel flinched and looked down while rubbing the back of his head.

"Well…" he said slowly.

"They're dead Gabriel. _Dead_. How can they even _leave_ heaven, it's not possible." Rason said in disbelief. Gabriel nodded slowly then glanced up to him.

"Well…apparently it isn't impossible." he said weakly. Rason blinked then grabbed his comrade by the shoulders and started shaking him.

"What the hell is going on Gabriel?" he yelled out.

"I'm sorry, they found a way to return to the human world. But that's not the problem here, the problem is I can't take them back." Gabriel said urgently. Rason stopped shaking him and looked at him speechless.

"What do you mean you can't take them back?" Ceal said glancing to the angel. Complica started crying a bit, the group then looking to her as she looked at Ceal with watery eyes.

"We can't go back. We can't go back home Ceal. We tried and tried and tried but…we couldn't go back!" she sobbed out before she broke down crying.

"They can't go back to heaven?" Moka said with surprise. Gabriel looked at the crying chronofly with remorse and nodded.

"I tried, I tried to take them back up while Ceal was dealing with that dragon. But…they couldn't pass through the heavenly barrier. I can't get their souls to return to heaven." he said with regret.

"I can't go back to my parents! I'm stuck down here!" Complica cried out as she held her hands to her face.

"They're stuck down here in this world?" Gin said looking to Gabriel. The angel nodded and looked up.

"The heavenly barrier prohibits any soul from heaven to leave the heavenly realm. And…it also prohibits any soul from trying to get in from down here as well. They can't pass through." he said with remorse. Dark looked at Complica then to Arial, the snow angel still asleep in his arms.

"Oh my god, they're trapped here." Ruby said holding a hand over her mouth. Rason looked at the two young angels with disbelief then shook his head.

"This is insane, how did they even get out of heaven in the first place, it's not possible!" he cried out.

"It is possible friend, and I'll explain everything later. But right now we need to get out of here fast, they're not safe here in this world." Gabriel said urgently.

"What do you mean not safe? They're dead already, what else could happen to them?" Kurumu said puzzled.

"They're disembodied souls Ms. Kurumu." Astreal said worriedly.

"They're not supposed to be outside of the heavenly realm ever." Apoch said shaking her head.

"I don't understand, what does that mean?" Moka asked.

"It means that they're just souls. If they die down here outside of the heavenly realm…" Gabriel said before everybody looked to him. He paused then looked to Rason with worry.

"They'll be gone forever." he finished. Moka's group looked to Complica and then to Arial, everybody then going wide eyed as that information sank in.

"Gone…forever?" Yukari said nervously.

"They'll be erased from existence entirely. They won't go back to heaven, they'll disappear forever." Ruby said worriedly.

"What?" Moka and Kurumu cried out. Rason looked at Complica with a stunned expression while Dark held Arial securely, the demon looking down at the snow angel with worry now. Complica looked around at the group and trembled a bit.

"Please…help me." she whimpered.

"She…she'll be gone forever?" Moka said looking to Gabriel. The boy nodded and looked at the young chronofly angel.

"They can only exist and be safe in heaven, that's where their souls are supposed to remain. Outside of the realm their souls are exposed and unprotected, if they're killed in this state they'll vanish from existence forever." he said with regret. Rason looked at the two young angels with disbelief.

"How did this happen? Who was in charge of watching over them in heaven?" he demanded. The group looked to Gabriel as he showed a nervous expression. After a moment he slowly pointed to himself.

"That…would be me." he said shakily.

"You? You were supposed to be watching over them?" Rason said with frustration. Gabriel gulped and nodded a bit. Rason looked at his comrade with disbelief as he grabbed his hair.

"How…how the hell could you let this happen Gabriel?" he yelled out.

"You let Arial come down from heaven where she could be wiped from existence? This is all your fault?" Dark said as he glared at the angel. Ruby looked at the angel worriedly then glanced to Ceal.

"Um…Ceal? We may need your help putting Gabriel back together again in a little bit." she said worriedly. Ceal showed no reaction as he remained silent while using his magic on the snow maiden.

"What have you done Gabriel?" Rason yelled out at the angel.

"I'm sorry, but it's not easy watching over these two. One of them can warp around in the blink of an eye and the other is…well, she's like a ninja or something, she keeps sneaking into the palace everyday." Gabriel said nervously. Rason shook his head with frustration then marched up to his comrade.

"Two children. Two_ children_ Gabriel. You're a guardian angel, how could you let two children sneak out of heaven like this?" he yelled out.

"You think I wanted them to sneak out like this? I kept telling them over and over to stay in the heavenly city. Complica was an angel, she knew to stay in the realm like a proper soul. But Arial…" Gabriel said looking to the snow angel then to Dark.

"What about her?" Dark said with a cold tone. Gabriel looked at the boy nervously and backed up a bit.

"She's…very stubborn. She just doesn't listen." he said shakily.

"Are you implying that Arial _isn't_ a proper soul Gabriel?" Dark said with malice as the area around him darkened a bit. The group looked at him worriedly as the demon slowly walked towards the angel. Gabriel waved his hands in front of him nervously and shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that…it's just…" he stammered.

"Choose your words wisely, I don't care if you are an angel of heaven or not, nobody speaks about Arial with such disrespect." Dark said firmly as he held the snow angel in his arms. Gabriel looked at the boy nervously then to Rason. The group glanced to Mizore who was showing a worried expression.

"Ceal? Is she about ready to go?" Leon asked cautiously as he looked out the opening in the large area.

"Getting there." Ceal said simply. Leon nodded and glanced to the others.

"Then we should probably continue this little conversation later guys. We've got company on the way." he said looking back outside. The group looked towards the large opening, and saw dozens of helicopters in the distance closing in on the building.

"What is that?" Ahakon said worriedly.

"Reinforcements." Render said gripping his two swords tightly.

"Holy shit, how many are they sending over here?" Rason said with surprise.

"I'd say everyone they've got." Dark said as he watched with frustration at the incoming armed forces. The group looked to Ceal as he was still using his magic on Mizore.

"Hurry up man, we need to go right now." Gin said urgently.

"She's not fully healed inside yet wolf, I can't rush this." Ceal said with a tone of impatience. The snow girl looked at him worriedly then down at her body while she was lying on the ground.

"How much longer do you need? And please don't say more than five seconds." Render said looking out at all the incoming vehicles.

"I told you I can't rush this, if I don't reconstruct her body properly then she could bleed out and die. I need to make sure her entire body is whole again and it's a bit complex in there in case you didn't know." Ceal said shaking his head.

"We don't have time to wait though, can she at least move?" Moka said looking to her friend.

"If she tries to walk, let alone run, she'll regret it. She can't use her muscles yet until I finish or she might do more damage to her own body." Ceal said glancing to the vampire. Render looked to the snow girl then back outside, then he spun his blades upward and a glow came from his hands. The group looked to him as he moved his hands up, the boy phasing his swords back into the ether. As the blades vanished from sight he looked back to the snow girl and ran over to her.

"Then I'll carry her, we need to go now." he said quickly.

"What the…how did you do that?" Ahakon said looking at the battlemage with wonder.

"I'll explain it all later kid, but right now we need to go. Actually, we need to already be gone." Render said kneeling down next to Mizore. Moka and Kurumu helped slip the mage's jacket onto the snow girl while she was lying down as Ceal stood up, the glow from his hands fading as he halted his magic. Moka zipped up the jacket and Render gently lifted her up into his arms.

"Her body isn't fully restored yet hunter, drop her and she'll rupture." Ceal warned. Mizore blinked then looked to Render worriedly as he held her. He smiled confidently as a bluish aura flared around him faintly, the snow girl suddenly feeling like she was perfectly safe.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." he said with a nod. Mizore just slowly nodded as she felt her fears melting away. She didn't know this guy at all and was in critical condition from her injury, yet she felt like she was as safe as could be with him. Apoch smiled a bit as she saw her boyfriend's aura keeping Mizore calm then looked out the opening at the incoming forces. Dark watched the battlemage closely then looked outside as well. He wasn't exactly wild about the idea of somebody else carrying his girl while she was in such a critical condition, however there wasn't much time to debate that.

"We need to get out of here now." he called out.

"How are we going to do that? Where do we go?" Ran said looking around.

"We need to get to the parking garage and get a ride, we're not running out of this place." Razico said looking to the nearby doorway into the complex.

"C'mon, we'll show you the way." Ruby called out as she and Razico ran off. The group quickly followed after them and down the hallway, the large group of monsters running quickly down the corridors of the building. Gunfire and monstrous roars were still heard echoing out in some parts as the group made haste back towards the parking garage. As they ran down the hall Mizore glanced over to Dark and Arial, the snow girl looking at the snow angel that viciously attacked her just a short while ago. She watched as Dark held the young angel securely in his arms, the demon looking ahead with a focused expression as he was holding his own guardian angel. Mizore knew how much Arial meant to him, how Dark would do anything he could to protect and take care of the wayward angel. She knew that the young girl was like a mother to him, however it was more than apparent that Arial didn't see herself that way. It was clear to everybody there but Dark that Arial wanted the demon all to herself, and was willing to do whatever it took to make that a reality. She had defied the laws of life and returned to the living world, she had rushed to the HDA command center to mount a rescue on the imprisoned demon, she used her powerful force of monster energy to block a missile attack at the last moment to save him.

And she had made it known that she would kill anybody that tried to take him from her.

* * *

The sky above was turning to night as stars were faintly seen amidst the glow of the lights from the human city. All around the HDA command center armored trucks and SUV's were pulling up on the streets, the vehicles coming to a stop before soldiers and armed personal jumped out and surveyed the area. Up above the rotors of HDA attack choppers were heard as human police officers were quickly escorting and evacuating the nearby area. People were running and screaming as they tried to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the location where a monster breakout was taking place. They ran across sidewalks and in the streets, the people in a panic as police officers and squad cars were guiding them out of the nearby area. A few armored tanks moved down the streets as people quickly parted for them, the heavy HDA armaments moving towards where their command center and holding block of the city had fallen into chaos. As one of the tanks made its way towards the south end wall surrounding the building a girl in a parked car was watching with wide eyes. She watched the large manmade vehicle roll by on its treads then looked ahead with fright.

"Tanks…they're bringing in tanks now. First aircraft then tanks, how long before this place just gets nuked?" Sandra cried out. She held onto the steering wheel in her car as she shook her head wildly.

"This is insane! Monsters or not, they're outgunned here!" she said before she grabbed her hair in frustration. She wanted to drive off, to get as far away from where the HDA may very well just bomb the entire area as a precaution, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave the three monster girls she brought here.

"Dammit! Arial, Sun, Complica, get out of there already!" she cried out as she looked to the large building ahead of her. She was shocked and left speechless when she witnessed a missile attack on the building somehow fail as after the large explosion followed by her screaming for her life as the nearby street and buildings were hit by a powerful shockwave, she saw that the attack didn't seem to do anything to the building while giant shards of ice appeared to fly off from the missile's impact. She wasn't sure if Arial did that or another monster, but it was obvious that something from another world stopped the missile attack from going through. Still, even with renewed hope that her friends were still alive inside the command center, seeing all the heavy armor and weaponry surrounding the building was bringing back her doubt and fear.

"Arg! This is crazy, I can't stay here like this!" she cried out looking around at all the civilians running away from the place while HDA soldiers and vehicles were marching towards the building. The girl yelled out and shifted the car into drive, then halted as she struggled against her own desire to stay for her friends. The image of herself holding onto Sun when the siren was about to be taken by a dark monster flashed before her eyes, the human girl remembering how she held onto her friend and helped keep her from being taken away.

_"Don't worry Sun, I won't let you go!"_

Sandra closed her eyes and gripped the steering wheel tightly. After a pause she looked to the building ahead with worried eyes. The girl then drove the car around and headed down the street away from the building, the girl looking ahead with a pained expression. She growled and shook her head, then turned down a side road. She drove down through the street while people were running away in a panic then made another turn, the girl driving slowly as people and other cars were trying to flee the area. After a while Sandra came to an intersection and stopped in it, the girl glancing to her side at seeing the north end of the building. HDA armored trucks and SUV's were gathering near a broken gateway into the compound while police cars were setting up roadblocks to cut off the street. Sandra looked around then back towards the building.

"Sun…I'm sorry." she said looking down. The sounds of sirens and people yelling as they ran past were heard as the girl was stopped in the middle of the intersection. After a moment she slowly looked ahead with a focused expression.

"I'm sorry if this isn't enough to help you." she said before she floored the gas, the car's tires squealing as she turned and raced towards the roadblock. The policemen looked with surprise and waved wildly as she drove down the street with a focused expression. The men jumped aside as the girl crashed through the roadblock signs and roared down the street. HDA soldiers and personal looked back to seeing the car driving towards them at high speed.

"What is that driver doing?" a solider yelled out.

"Hey! Get out of here now, this is a hot zone!" another man yelled out. Sandra raced down the street and weaved around HDA trucks and SUV's, the girl nearly missing a few men as she raced towards the broken gate. A few soldiers took aim and fired their rifles as the girl clipped an SUV and struck off its front bumper as her headlight smashed in. The rear of the car was shot apart as the back window was shattered. The girl screamed as her windshield cracked before racing into the HDA compound. She swerved a bit as she looked around franticly for where to go, the girl having not really thought of much of a strategy other than 'rush the front gate'. She raced past other surprised HDA personal and vehicles before she flew down the ramp into the lower garage. Her car hit the floor and sparked a bit as she continued to drive ahead at full speed. Inside other soldiers and personal watched with surprise as the car raced through the underground garage at high speed.

"AHH! This was a fucking mistake!" Sandra cried out as she floored it through the garage. The back left tire blew out and the car swerved a bit, the girl struggling to keep in control despite the fact that she had no idea where she would be going now. The car swerved a bit then spun around wildly, the tires screeching as the girl screamed inside the vehicle. After a few spins and multiple screams of terror from the girl the car slammed rear first into a parked SUV at the end of the parking garage, the vehicle coming to a swift halt as Sandra held onto the steering wheel for dear life. She shakily looked ahead and saw multiple HDA soldiers running towards her car, the men holding their rifles and calling out to their comrades as the engine in her car was smoking a bit.

"Well this was a bright idea." she muttered to herself as she shook her head. She stumbled out of the car and dropped to the ground, the girl looking ahead to seeing five soldiers running up to her and aiming their guns.

"Hands behind your head now!" one of them yelled out.

"Stay on the ground or else we will fire." another said sternly.

"She could be another monster in disguise, just like the last ones." another said as he aimed at the girl's head. Sandra narrowed her eyes at the humans and clenched her fists a bit.

"No sensible human would try to break in here alone in that piece of junk, she's probably a monster." another said as he armed his rifle.

"Take no chances, take her out!" a soldier yelled before they all fired. Sandra screamed and closed her eyes as she covered her head, the girl lying on the ground trembling as gunfire echoed out inside the garage. After a moment she heard shell casings drop yet didn't feel anything hit her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked ahead to seeing a flickering wall of light before her. The soldiers lowered their weapons slightly as they stared with wide eyes at the wall of light that stopped all their bullets from going through.

"Wha…" Sandra breathed out.

"What the hell is that?" a soldier yelled out.

"She _is_ a monster!" another called out as they took aim again. Suddenly black tentacles came from below and ensnared three of the men, the soldiers yelling as they were lifted into the air. The other two soldiers looked with surprise as the men were swung around before being ripped apart savagely by the dark limbs. Sandra watched with wide eyes as the human men were torn to pieces by the many dark appendages while the other two soldiers watched with shock.

"What the hell?" a soldier yelled out.

"Holy shit!" a boy's voice cried out. The soldiers and Sandra looked over to seeing a very large group of figures standing near the area, with a boy who had wings staring with an open mouth. Rason pointed at the bloody remains of the soldiers as Moka's group was staring with shock at the sight.

"Oh my god, you tore them to pieces!" Kurumu cried out grabbing her head in fright. Moka's group looked to Ceal as he showed no reaction to them. The two soldiers looked with surprise then aimed their guns at the group.

"There's more of them!" one of the men yelled out. They fired their rifles at the group and watched as the bullets struck a flickering wall of light once again. Apoch shook her head a bit as she held out her hand still, the girl using her barrier to effortlessly block the bullets. Astreal aimed her hand a red glow swirled around her arm to her wrist, the witch then firing a shot of magical energy towards a soldier while Leon mimicked the attack. The two shots blasted through the soldiers and knocked them back into a tumble as Sandra stared with wide eyes at the group still.

"Did…did you just use Astreal's magic?" Yukari said looking to Leon with surprise. The boy smirked and nodded as Ceal walked towards the remains of the soldiers. One of the men shakily looked up to him as he had a burning hole through his chest.

"You…goddamned…monsters…" the man choked out. Ceal's reptilian hand glowed a black hue as dark tentacles slowly crept up around the wounded soldier.

"There are worse monsters than us human, perhaps you should have pointed your guns at them." the boy said coldly before the limbs grabbed the man by the neck and torso. The group watched as the two limbs ripped the man into pieces then tossed the remains away.

"What...what the hell is he anyway?" Kurumu said looking at Ceal with a bit of fear. The boy looked around at the slaughtered remains of the soldiers then over to Sandra, the girl trembling while on the ground still as her eyes were wide.

"Sandra!" Complica called out. Sandra looked over and saw Complica and Sun running up to them.

"Sun. Complica. You're…you're ok." Sandra said shakily. She then looked to Ceal as the boy just looked at her with no expression.

"What are you doing here Sandra? It's not safe here." Complica said worriedly. Sandra blinked then looked at the girl with disbelief.

"I know damned well it's not safe here! I was the one that was trying to tell all of you that from the start remember?" she cried out as she scrambled to her feet. She looked at Sun and showed a bit of relief, the girl then hugging her with a slight smile.

"I was scared to death waiting for you, I thought you were all killed." She said worriedly. Sun smiled a bit at her friend as the group just looked at them curiously, except for Rason who was still staring at the bloody remains of the soldiers. Sandra looked to Complica then around quickly.

"Wait, where's Arial? Is she alright?" she asked quickly. She then looked over and saw Dark holding the snow angel in his arms. Sandra looked at the boy then slowly pointed to him.

"It's you…you're the one she was looking for." she said in wonder. Dark looked at her curiously then glanced down to the snow angel that was still asleep in his arms.

"Yeah, we found him and all the others before they were executed. And…some more of their friends too." Complica said looking to Ruby's group. Sandra looked around at all of them with wonder.

"You're…you're all monsters?" she asked softly.

"Technically we're angels if that makes a difference for you." Gabriel said with a weak smile as Rason was still looking with wide eyes at where Ceal had massacred the human soldiers with his necro magic. Sandra looked at them with wonder then to Sun, the siren smiling a bit and nodding.

"What are you doing here though Sandra? I thought you were going to wait outside." Complica asked. Sandra looked to her with worry and shook her head.

"I came to get you the hell out of here. The HDA is throwing everything they have at this place, they're coming for you with everything they've got." she said urgently.

"I was getting the impression we weren't wanted here, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions." Render said with a shrug as he held the snow maiden in his arms.

"You don't know the half of it, they're bringing in everything to stop you guys. Helicopters, jets, tanks, it's a freakin' mess out there!" Sandra said waving towards the exit of the garage.

"Sounds like they're desperate to stop us." Leon said looking towards the exit.

"We have to get back to the monster world, we're not safe here anymore." Ruby said shaking her head. Sandra looked to Complica with urgency.

"You and Arial need to go back to heaven Complica, this is getting out of hand down here." she said worriedly. Complica whimpered and shook her head.

"But…I can't." she said softly.

"What do you mean you can't? You have to go now before this gets any worse. You can't stay here like this, if you die down here you're gone forever." Sandra pleaded. She looked to Rason and Gabriel with worry.

"You said you're angels right? Get her and Arial back to heaven, please." she said with urgency. Gabriel showed a worried expression and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but…we can't do that." he said with remorse.

"What do you mean you can't do that? You're angels, they're souls from heaven! It's your job isn't it?" Sandra cried out. Rason blinked and slowly looked away from the slaughtered humans then over to Gabriel.

"It was his _job_ to keep them in heaven in the first place." He said dryly.

"I'm sorry alright? Human souls are one thing Rason, but I was never trained to watch over monsters." Gabriel said defensively.

"We can't go back Sandra, we tried but we can't go back to heaven. We can't pass through the heavenly barrier." Complica said fearfully. Sandra looked at her with disbelief then over to Arial.

"What? You mean…they're trapped down here?" she said shaking her head.

"I'm afraid so." Gabriel said with remorse. Sandra looked to Complica as she was trying not to cry, the young chronofly angel whimpering and looking at her friend with worry.

"This is crazy, you need to do something!" she cried out looking to Rason. He nodded with a focused expression.

"We will. First we're going to get the hell out of here, then I'm going to murder my friend here for letting these two come back at all, then we'll figure out a way to send them back home." he said assuredly.

"Give me a break here, I have other duties up in heaven to deal with other than watching them every second." Gabriel pleaded.

"I've got a bone to pick with him as well for allowing Arial to be placed in this situation." Dark said coldly. Gabriel jumped a bit and looked at him worriedly.

"I said I was sorry!" he cried out.

"You can kill your friend later, we need to leave this place now." Ceal said looking around at the HDA vehicles. He looked over to a nearby HDA armored truck then over to Render.

"Get the snow girl into the back of the truck, I'll finish up with her on the road." he said motioning towards the vehicle. Render ran towards the truck while carrying Mizore as Dark followed while carrying Arial.

"I'll get behind the wheel, driving is something I can at least help out with." Leon said as he ran towards the truck.

"Shotgun." Astreal called out following after him. Apoch giggled then ran after her sister and boyfriend.

"We're going to need more than one ride here for everybody." Razico said looking over to another armored truck. He ran towards it while Ruby looked back to where their original vehicle was lying on its side and torn up in the front from their break-in.

"Here's hoping we don't have to do that again." she said before following after him.

"Wait for us." Yukari called out as she, Ahakon, and Ran followed after them as well. Ceal looked to Sun and narrowed his eyes.

"You're coming with me." he said firmly. The siren looked at him worriedly as the boy walked up to her.

"I want an answer as to why a dragon came here after you." he said as the siren backed up a bit.

"Dragon? Wait, that giant monster that was rampaging outside was after you?" Sandra said looking to Sun with wide eyes. The siren looked at nervously and shrugged a bit.

"It was? Why?" Complica asked with surprise.

"That's what I want to know." Ceal said coldly. Sun shook her head worriedly while shrugging again.

"I'll help you beat an answer out of her." Kokoa growled as she gripped her giant morning star tightly. Gin glanced to his girlfriend worriedly then back to Sun as the siren looked at the vampire with a nervous expression.

"Um…I think I'll ride with the others then, if that's ok." Fang Fang said worriedly. Ceal glanced to him and narrowed his eyes.

"You're not coming with us yasha, I have no intention on helping you survive this." he said sternly. Fang Fang looked at him worriedly then around at the others.

"C'mon, I'm not a bad person. Really." he pleaded.

"We can at least help him get away from this place, he doesn't have to come with us back to the academy." Rason reasoned. Fang Fang nodded eagerly to that.

"Yes, thank you good sir. You truly are an angel of heaven." He said graciously. Ceal growled a bit then looked back to Sun.

"Fine, he's your problem to deal with then. As for you girl, get in the truck now." he said sternly. Sun looked at him worriedly then glanced to the truck.

"You heard him. Move." Kokoa hissed.

"Easy Kokoa, she's not a bad person either. She's just an old friend from the academy." Gin pleaded.

"She _kissed_ you!" Kokoa cried out, her voice echoing throughout the garage. Sandra looked at her with wonder then to Gin.

"Kissed him? Are you her boyfriend or something?" she asked. Kokoa growled then swung her mace down into the ground with a fierce strike, the spiked weapon digging into the pavement as the group looked to her.

"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!" she roared out. Sandra backed up in fright as Gin looked at his temperamental girlfriend worriedly.

_In some ways, she and Arial aren't so different._

"Ok! Sorry!" Sandra cried out. Sun looked at the vampire worriedly then to Gin. Kokoa growled furiously and grabbed her weapon, then brought it up and pointed it at Sun.

"Get in that truck now, and you'd better start talking!" she yelled out.

"Don't hurt her, please." Complica said worriedly. Sun looked around at the group worriedly before Ceal snapped his fingers. From the ground dark tentacles slowly crept up around the siren, the girl looking at them with wide eyes.

"I'm not going to ask you again girl. Get in the truck." Ceal said coldly.

"What…what are those things?" Sandra said fearfully.

"Ceal please, don't hurt her." Complica said worriedly.

"Then she'd better start listening." the boy said while keeping his eyes on the siren. Sun glanced around then slowly nodded, the girl then walking towards the truck as the dark limbs slowly vanished. Ceal glanced to Complica and motioned towards the truck.

"You too Complica, I want to keep an eye on you." he said. She slowly nodded then looked to Sandra. The human looked at her worriedly then around at the others. Kokoa growled then tossed her weapon up, the object then poofing back into a bat. Sandra just stared with wide eyes at the sight as the bat flew down and landed on Kokoa's shoulder. She started walking towards the truck before Gin grabbed her hand.

"Hold on Kokoa, we're riding with the others." he said.

"What? Why? I want to know what's going on with that bitch." Kokoa snapped as she looked back to him.

"Because it's getting crowded in there as it is, because Mizore is in serious condition and needs Ceal to heal her, because we have two young angels that could be wiped from existence if they die. That being said, the last thing we need is for you to lose your temper and start a fight in there." Gin said firmly. The vampire looked at him with frustration then over to the truck. She growled loudly then looked back to Gin.

"Just who the hell is she anyway?" she said with anger.

"I told you, she's just an old friend from the academy. I'll tell you everything I know about her if you like, but right now we need to go." he said firmly. Kokoa looked at him carefully then glanced back to the truck. After a pause she looked back to Gin with a firm expression.

"Fine, but she still has some groveling to do for kissing you like that." She said before she marched off towards the other truck. Gin sighed and nodded a bit.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get any rest any time soon." he said before he followed after her. Fang Fang looked around at the group then followed after the couple as well.

"Are you ok?" Moka asked looking to Sandra. The girl slowly nodded as she glanced around at the group.

"Oh yeah…dandy." she said weakly.

"You didn't do too badly for a human." Ceal said looking over to the damaged car. Sandra looked at him with a worried expression.

"Give me a break, I tried to help didn't I?" she asked.

"You did." Ceal said pointing to something. The group looked over to seeing a bloody smear behind the car between the vehicle and HDA truck. Sandra looked at it then jumped a bit.

"Oh…oh god." she said holding a hand over her mouth.

"Wow, you got one." Rason said as the group looked at the bloody mess that was once an HDA soldier before he was crushed between the two vehicles. Sandra shook her head then looked down with disbelief.

"Oh great, now I'm a murderer too." she said with defeat.

"Don't think of it like that. Think of it as you coming to help your friends." Kurumu said with a shrug. Sandra sighed and looked to Complica with worry. The young chronofly angel smiled a bit at her and nodded. Leon pulled the truck up near them as Razico drove his over behind it.

Inside Leon's truck Mizore was lying down on one side in the back with Dark kneeling next to her, the boy looking at his fiancée with worry as she was smiling softly at him. She then looked behind him to seeing Arial being held by Apoch, the witch looking at the snow angel in her arms with a bit of worry while hoping the temperamental soul didn't wake up anytime soon. Aside from Mizore, Apoch was the only one there that Dark would entrust the snow angel too, with the witch accepting the offer with a forced smile. Render was seated next to her, the boy using his magic to dissolve his combat form. Mizore and Dark looked at him curiously as the boy leaned back in his seat in his normal form.

"What?" he asked curiously. Dark and Mizore looked at him then to Apoch, the witch smiling softly at her boyfriend.

"What…happened to you?" Mizore asked looking back to Render. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a small smile. Next to him Sun was looking at the boy curiously as well, the siren not sure what he was or why he changed like that.

"Tell you what, I'll add it to the extremely long list of things we need to talk about if we get out of here alive." Render said with a shrug.

"As if that list isn't long enough already." Leon said flatly. Astreal merely nodded in agreement while looking down with worry.

Inside Razico's truck the warlock and elder witch were at the front of the vehicle, with the man looking around the garage carefully while Ruby was looking down at her wand with a worried expression, the woman thinking about how the others would handle the news of the world going to hell all around them. In the back Yukari and Ahakon were sitting next to each other while Ran was next to the young mage, the siren looking down with worry while the two young casters were looking down and holding hands. Across from them Gin and Kokoa were seated along with Fang Fang who was next to the wolf.

"So…rough day huh?" Fang Fang said with a weak smile.

"You'd be surprised how our days usually are." Kokoa said flatly as she was looking down, the girl holding Gin's hand tightly while the wolf nodded in agreement.

Astreal waved to the others still standing in the garage and called out to them.

"Hey you guys, let's get going." she said motioning them to hurry up.

"C'mon Ceal, you're needed in the back." Leon called out to him.

"Thank you Sandra, for coming after us." Complica said softly. The group looked to her as Sandra smiled a bit.

"Sure thing kid. I just wish I could have done more to help you." she said softly.

"Well actually, there is something you could do if you want." Rason said looking to her. She looked to the angel as he shrugged a bit.

"It's getting a bit crowded in those two trucks, and we could use a driver for another ride." he said with a small smile. Sandra blinked then looked around at them.

"Just to at least get us out of here, you don't have to come with us all the way back to the monster world of course. But we could use the help driving out of here. Unfortunately driving isn't something they taught us at our school." Kurumu said with a smirk. Sandra looked to Complica then to a nearby HDA SUV.

"Well…not like I wanted to stay here anyway." she said with a shrug. She ran over to it along with Kurumu, Rason, and Gabriel. Moka looked over to Ceal and smiled a bit.

"Thank you, for helping us like this." she said gently.

"C'mon Moka, let's go." Kurumu called out as she and the two angels ran over to the SUV. Sandra got in the driver's seat and started up the vehicle as Gabriel jumped into the front passage seat. Rason and Kurumu jumped into the back seat as the human revved the engine.

"Let's go Ceal." Complica said tugging on the boy's arm. He glanced to her and nodded then looked to the truck near them. The young chronofly ran over to the truck and jumped in the back while holding her baseball bat before Ceal glanced to Moka.

"I'm not doing any of this because I care about you or your comrades vampire, do not get the wrong idea." he said simply. Moka looked at him worriedly as the boy looked back to the truck.

"I'm here not by my own wishes but because of Falla's. It's because of her wish to have you all spared that I'm here at all." He said while looking around at damaged vehicles in the garage.

"Falla. Is she...is she ok?" Moka asked worriedly. Ceal nodded and looked back to her.

"She's waiting for you all at your academy in the monster world, she's safe." he said simply.

"I see. Well, thank you anyway for helping us, and for saving Mizore. Whatever your reasons are, I'm very grateful for what you've done." Moka said with a gentle smile. Ceal just looked at her for a moment then towards the truck again, the boy then walking towards it without saying a word. Moka smiled a bit at him then ran over to the SUV with her other friends. She got in the backseat with Kurumu and Rason then closed the door, the vehicle then driving through the garage with the other two armored trucks following behind.

From the check-in station a guard watched as they passed by then grabbed his radio.

"They're heading for the front gate, they've stolen three vehicles and are heading your way." he called out.

Ceal knelt down next to Mizore and held his hands over her stomach, the boy showing no real expression as the others watched him curiously. The glow once again formed as he slowly moved his hands around her body, the boy working to finish his reconstruction of her insides.

"Thank you for helping her like this." Dark said while watching the glow coming from the catalyst mage's hands. Ceal glanced to him then looked back down to the snow maiden.

"I suggest you hold her down demon." He said simply.

"Why?" Mizore asked with a bit of worry.

The three vehicles drove up the ramp to the outer compound, the HDA trucks and SUV driving through the courtyard that appeared to be empty. As they approached the destroyed front gate however they saw that they were far from alone.

"Oh my god." Moka breathed out.

"Because this ride is about to get rough." Ceal said as he glanced towards the front of the truck where Leon and Astreal were looking ahead with wide eyes. Inside Ruby and Razico's truck the casters were staring with equal disbelief at the sight before them. Moka and her group were looking around with wide eyes and open mouths as the three vehicles pulled out of the command center's outer barrier. The three vehicles screeched to a stop as they looked around with surprise. All around were the bright lights of the city, the night sky above with a few clouds floating by, debris and broken steel from the group's rough entry into the command center.

And dozens of HDA gunships, SUV's, humvees, and tanks that were called in to surround the building and kill every monster they saw.

"Holy shit." Sandra said fearfully.

"That's…a lot." Kurumu said shakily.

"What…what do we do now?" Rason said nervously.

Leon stomped on the gas pedal and the truck's tires squealed loudly as the boy turned the vehicle sharply. Razico did the same thing and the two trucks turned away from the large army in front of them and down a street that ran alongside the HDA command center. Sandra screamed as she hit the gas and turned her SUV as well, the girl following after the two trucks as a large amount of HDA enforcers started to give chase.

The group raced down the street as gunfire started to echo out into the air. They were outgunned, outnumbered, and targeted for immediate execution. There was only one option left for them.

Run for their lives.


	9. Enemies Of Mankind

"Get us out of here!" Kurumu screamed as the girl held onto the side door and seat with fright. The back window of the SUV cracked severely as gunfire echoed out, the vehicle serving as the side mirrors were shot right off while the windows cracked from the bullets flying at them.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Sandra yelled back as she tried to keep the vehicle steady, the girl racing down a road right behind two HDA trucks that were coming under heavy fire.

"This is crazy, they're sending the entire army after us." Rason said looking back out the window, the boy seeing a large task force of helicopters and humvees chasing after them.

"We need to get to the monster world right away!" Moka cried out as she held onto her seat with fear.

"I don't think we're going to make it like this." Gabriel said before a bullet shot through the roof of the truck and pierced through the front windshield, the glass cracking as Sandra screamed in terror. She tried to keep driving steady while following behind the other HDA trucks ahead of her. Inside one of the trucks Razico was looking out his window with frustration as bullets struck at the truck from behind, the occupants looking around worriedly as sparks and dents lit up the ceiling.

"Hurry up! They're right behind us!" Yukari cried out as she gripped her hat with fright.

"There's so many out there, we can't outrun them all!" Ruby cried out as she saw helicopters and humvees chasing after the group, before her mirror was shot right off the truck. One of the vehicle's rear tires was shot off, the truck swerving as the warlock tried to keep it steady.

"We're all going to die!" Ran cried out as she gripped Ahakon out of fear, with half of the boy's face being pushed into her chest as he thrashed around. The siren screamed as a bullet tore through the chassis and struck past her, the girl jumping back with fright as the group saw the smoking hole in the rear of the truck.

"This thing isn't bulletproof, do something!" Gin shouted out.

"I'm trying, not much else I can do besides floor it here!" Razico shouted back.

"Well that's not working, think of something else quick!" Kokoa cried out as another bullet pierced through the chassis and struck into the ground between the seats. Fang Fang looked at the hole with wide eyes then towards the rear of the truck where he saw the smoking hole from the bullet's entry.

In the truck ahead of them Leon was driving as fast as he could, the boy gripping the steering wheel tightly as Astreal was holding onto her seat with fear. In the back Dark was holding onto Mizore from around her upper chest while he was knelt down next to her, the boy sitting next to Ceal as he was working his magic to restore the snow maiden's body.

"Keep it steady, I need her to remain still during this." Ceal called up.

"You tell that to them!" Leon yelled back. Apoch held onto Arial worriedly as she looked around at the interior of the truck, the witch hearing the bullets striking the outside repeatedly, all while the snow angel was out cold in her arms still. Complica trembled and looked around worriedly as Render was looking at Mizore worriedly.

"Please tell us she's almost good to go man, this ride's about to get really bumpy really quick." he said urgently.

"Afraid not, I still need more time to finish with this, her circulatory system isn't a simple thing you know." Ceal said shaking his head.

"Sorry but I sort of slept through biology class a lot, not really my thing. But c'mon man, isn't there a faster way of doing this?" Render said as he saw a bullet strike through the ceiling and pierce the side of the truck. Sun looked at the bullet hole with wide eyes as Complica turned pale with fear.

"If there was don't you think I would have done so?" Ceal said flatly.

"Just hang on Mizore." Dark said looking around as the truck swerved a bit on the road. Mizore held onto his arm tightly as the girl was watching Ceal slowly move his hands around her stomach and lower body.

"We're going to die. We're going to die and I'm going to be gone forever and Arial will be gone forever and we'll be gone and you'll all be dead and no no NO!" Complica cried out shaking her head. Sun held her worriedly as she looked around, the girl holding the chronofly angel close with one arm while using her other to hold onto her seat.

"We're not going to die Ms. Complica, we're going to get you out of here. Just try to keep calm." Apoch said while holding Arial in her arms, the snow girl's hair swaying a bit as the truck swerved a bit on the road.

"Get us out of here, we need to get out of their sight!" Dark yelled out.

"You think this is easy buddy? You want to try this?" Leon shouted back. Dark looked to the front then to Mizore, the snow girl nodding. Dark nodded then got up and ran towards the front of the truck, the demon grabbing Leon and yanking him out of the seat. Astreal watched as Dark sat in the seat and took the wheel, the demon then looking back to Leon.

"Keep my Mizore still back there. Now!" he shouted out.

"Wha…just who the hell do you think you are anyway?" Leon said with discontent.

"Just do it!" Apoch cried out. Leon looked glanced back to the snow maiden then to Dark, then back to Mizore. The boy ran over and tried to help keep her steady by holding her by the shoulders while Dark looked around ahead of him at the city streets.

"There's nowhere for us to go, we're going to be shot to pieces." Astreal said nervously. Dark growled then looked ahead to seeing the road coming to a T-intersection, with a large mall in front of them while people were running away screaming in the streets.

"You can't make that turn at this speed." Astreal said shaking her head. She watched as Dark was still driving towards the end of the street at high speed, the demon narrowing his eyes as he kept a firm grip on the wheel. Dark looked ahead then glanced to Astreal, the witch looking ahead with nervous eyes.

"Um…Mr. Dark?" she asked glancing to him. Render looked ahead and slowly shook his head.

"Don't tell me he's going to…" he said worriedly.

"He's going to." Apoch said as she grabbed her seat firmly while holding Arial close. Leon and Ceal looked ahead then down to Mizore as Leon held her shoulders securely. Render knelt down next to Ceal and held the snow maiden's legs down while Sun held Complica close to her. Astreal gripped her seat and the dashboard ahead of her as she shook her head.

"Is this really a better way?" she asked.

"It's the only way. We need to get off the streets now." Dark said as the vehicle raced towards the mall, the front of the building having glass doors as well as large panes of glass above them showing the three story galleria with its open atrium. Dark floored the gas and the truck roared down the road towards the mall, with the following vehicles watching with surprise.

"What's Leon doing?" Razico said shaking his head.

"What's going on out there?" Gin called out.

"Um…looks like we're taking a detour!" Ruby cried out as she gripped the seat, the witch watching as the truck ahead of them drove through the front of the mall with a crash. Glass and steel blasted away as the truck raced into the galleria, with people inside screaming and running to the sides of the building. Razico floored it and followed after as Sandra watched with wide eyes, as did the rest of her passengers.

"Are they insane?" Gabriel yelled out. Kurumu looked back to see several rockets firing from the helicopters, the missiles flying towards them at high speed.

"Just go! NOW!" she screamed as she held onto her seat. Sandra yelled with fright as she drove into the building after the two trucks, with the rockets flying down and blasting apart the entrance and shattering all the glass above it right behind them. The explosions demolished the panes of glass and front of the building as people were thrown back from the blast. Two humvees raced through the flames and smoke into the building as the rest of the ground forces swerved and turned down the other roads. The choppers flew up over the building as people all around the area were screaming and pointing to the chaos.

Inside the building the three escaping vehicles floored it through the ground level of the mall, with people screaming and diving out of the way as the trucks crashed through a few stands and carts. People on the upper levels looked down to seeing the vehicles crashing their way through the ground level with surprise as smoke and debris flew around at the front of the building.

"I don't think we're supposed to be driving in here!" Astreal cried out as she held onto her seat for dear life, the girl seeing plaster and cardboard blasting apart in front of the truck as the vehicle raced through the building. The tires from the trucks squealed out as people screamed and ran off to the sides as fast as they could.

"I didn't think Leon was this brave to do this." Razico said as he kept close behind the other HDA truck.

"I'm sorry, brave? More like suicidal!" Ruby cried out as she held onto her seat, the witch watching as people and stores along the walls of the building flew by her window. Yukari looked ahead out the front window and just stared with wide eyes.

"Are we inside a human mall?" she said in disbelief.

"Now isn't the time to go shopping!" Gin shouted out.

Behind them Sandra was driving through the mall with wide eyes as her passengers were looking around curiously.

"I've…never been in a human mall before." Gabriel said weakly.

"This isn't how it's normally done." Rason said shaking his head.

"Is this really any better than being outside?" Moka asked worriedly.

"At least they're not firing rockets at us in here." Kurumu said while breathing out in relief. The rear window shattered as a bullet struck through it, the group looking back to seeing two humvees chasing after them. Atop each vehicle a solider was holding a heavy assault rifle while standing up through the roof, the men firing at the escaping group as people screamed and ran off from the scene.

"Get down!" Moka cried out grabbing Rason and Kurumu, the three ducking down as Sandra swerved the truck around a bit. Gabriel held onto the seat with worry as he looked back to seeing the HDA men firing at them, the bullets striking the hood and rear of the truck as a few shot past them. A round shot off the rearview mirror, another struck the rear tire causing the vehicle to skid and tremble, another cracked the front windshield.

And another shot through Sandra's head.

"No!" Gabriel yelled out as the human jerked forward onto the wheel as blood splattered onto the front windshield. Moka and the others looked over and gasped as Sandra was hunched over on the wheel, the girl's eyes wide as a hole was through her head.

"Sandra!" Moka cried out. Gabriel stared with wide eyes as he saw the girl shot dead right before him, her eyes no longer focusing as her hands dropped to her sides.

"Oh god, she's dead!" Kurumu cried out. Gabriel looked at the girl with a stunned expression then ahead as the SUV continued to drive with the fallen girl's foot on the gas pedal.

Dark looked around quickly as he continued to race through the human mall, the demon then looking ahead to seeing them approaching a large courtyard in the atrium. In the center of the area was a large pyramid made of steel and glass, the centerpiece to the rounded courtyard lighting up with a soft glow of different colors. The courtyard had tables and chairs set up around it while branching off in four directions into the mall. People looked to seeing vehicles racing towards them, the humans then screaming and scattering away from the area. Dark gripped the wheel tightly and looked back to the others.

"Everybody hang on!" he called out as he turned the wheel, the truck's tires squealing as he tried to turn the large vehicle. Razico watched the truck ahead of him start to turn then followed, the two sliding a bit as they started to drive around the large pyramid that glowed a green and blue light. The two trucks swerved a bit and slid sideways as they tried to keep steady, their wheels squealing as they drifted a bit around the large centerpiece. The passengers held onto their seats while Render and Leon tried to keep Mizore still, the girl looking around worriedly as Ceal concentrated on finishing up her body's reconstruction. The two front drivers then watched as an HDA SUV raced into the courtyard and struck into the pyramid, the vehicle going up at an angle as the glass cracked and shattered while the steel bent and twisted under the weight.

"No!" Astreal cried out as the SUV spiraled off the edge of the pyramid and soared through the air.

"Is that…no!" Ruby cried out as the SUV crashed into the ground on its side and skidded across the courtyard. Dark and Razico slammed on their brakes causing the two trucks to swerve and skid through several tables and chairs while people ran off screaming. Humans on the upper levels watched with wide eyes and open mouths as the SUV slammed into a clothing store, the vehicle crashing through the front glass and into the department while people inside ran towards the back screaming.

"What happened?" Apoch called out as the truck came to a halt.

"Ms. Moka's vehicle crashed!" Astreal said as she saw the downed SUV inside the clothing store. Sun and Complica stood up as Mizore watched with worried eyes.

"Oh no, Sandra!" Complica cried out.

"Oh god, they're down!" Ruby said as she and the warlock watched with surprise.

"Who's down?" Ahakon called up as the passengers in back regained themselves. They stood up and looked out the front window to seeing the SUV smoking from inside the clothing store.

"Big sis!" Kokoa cried out.

Inside the SUV that was on its side Moka, Kurumu, and Rason were slowly regaining their senses, the three lying on top of each other on the broken side window. Gabriel shook his head to clear his vision then looked with dismay at seeing Sandra hanging above him, the girl buckled in still with her seatbelt while one of her arms was broken and twisted over the steering wheel. Her head was hung low as blood trickled down from her bullet wound.

"I'm sorry girl…I'm so sorry." Gabriel said softly as the others looked to her. They all screamed as bullets started to shoot around them, the group looking out the back window to seeing the two humvees pulling to a quick stop out in the courtyard. One of the gunners opened fired on the SUV while the other fired off to the side at something else. Moka and her group ducked behind the seats the best they could as bullets tore through the chassis and shattered the windows.

"We're trapped!" Kurumu cried out.

"Now what do we do?" Gabriel cried out as he ducked behind the seat while another bullet shot through Sandra's body above him.

Astreal screamed as she and Dark ducked down, the two avoiding gunfire as the windshield and windows shattered from bullets flying through. The two darted into the back of the truck as bullets struck the side of the vehicle repeatedly.

"We need to get to them, fast!" Render said as he and Leon heard the gunfire strike all along the side of the truck. The group looked over to seeing a grenade flying through the front window and dropping down onto the seat then the floor, the round device rolling a bit as everybody stared at it. Apoch screamed and held out a hand, the girl manifesting a barrier between the group and the front of the truck. The grenade detonated and blasted the front of the truck into fiery pieces, the debris and flaming shrapnel flying off as the group braced from the explosion.

"This can't possibly get any worse." Astreal said worriedly as they saw smoke and flames billowing around outside of Apoch's shield.

"Dark…" Arial said softly, the group looking to the snow angel as she slowly opened her eyes a bit.

"Oh yes it can." Leon said quietly as Mizore looked with wide eyes at Arial, the snow maiden still unable to move and in very close proximity to the angel that clearly didn't like her very much.

"No!" Ruby cried out as she and her group saw the truck ahead of them blast apart in the front, the witch and warlock then ducking down as gunfire struck their windows and shattered them. The two scrambled back into the truck with the others as the front of the vehicle was pelted with gunfire along with the side.

"We need to help them!" Ahakon cried out.

"Help them? Who's going to help us?" Ran yelled as a bullet tore through the side and just missed her head, the girl screaming as the spark from the round flashed on the wall behind her.

Arial stirred a bit then slowly sat up, the girl looking around slowly as Apoch held her with worry.

"Wha…where am I?" Arial asked softly as her vision slowly focused. She blinked then saw Dark looking at her with wonder.

"Dark!" she said happily as she leapt out of the witch's arms and embraced him in a hug. He held her with one hand as he looked down at the snow angel.

"Arial, you're ok." he said with a bit of relief. The angel looked up at him with bright eyes and held him closely around the waist. She then looked around quickly as she heard all the gunfire echoing out.

"What's going on Dark? Where are-" she said before she looked over and saw Mizore, the snow maiden looking at her with worry as Ceal had his hands on her stomach still. Render and Leon glanced to Mizore then to Arial as Apoch and Astreal backed up a bit.

"You." Arial said as she bared her teeth slightly and glared at Mizore.

"…hey." the snow maiden said softly.

"You're still alive?" Arial growled out. Mizore slowly glanced to Ceal as the catalyst mage didn't even bother to look over to the snow angel. Dark looked at her with wonder before a bullet shot through the wall with a spark and a bang, the round striking the wall above Mizore as the group watched with surprise.

"Can we have this conversation later you guys? We have a bit of a problem here." Render said as he saw the flames and smoke die down a bit to show the mangled front engine and seats of the truck. Dark looked towards the front of the truck then down to Arial.

"Stay here with Mizore, I'll be right back." he said gently. Arial looked to him curiously while Mizore stared at him with wide eyes, the snow maiden not liking that suggestion at all. Dark glanced to Apoch then to Astreal.

"You two, with me." he said as his eyes turned pitch black and looked back out toward the front of the truck. Arial looked at him with a dreamy expression and wavered a bit, the girl captivated by the dark aura of the demon. As Arial tuned the world out around her the witch sisters glanced to Mizore, the snow maiden shaking her head worriedly.

"What exactly are you going to do? And why are you taking them with you?" Leon said cautiously as Apoch and Astreal slowly walked over to him. He grabbed their hands and looked glanced back to them.

"We're going to kill them." he said before they vanished into a black wisp. Sun and Complica watched with wonder as the three seemed to vanish right before their eyes while Leon and Render peered around for any sight of their girls.

"Wow…handy trick." Render said with a nod.

"He'd better bring them back alive." Leon said with concern. The group then looked to Arial as she was still looking out to where Dark and the witches had left from. After a pause she slowly looked back to Mizore. The snow angel growled as her hair froze over, the girl turning to face Mizore as her hands formed into ice claws. Before she could take a step closer to the snow maiden Complica jumped in front of her and shook her head.

"Please don't Arial, don't hurt her." she pleaded. She then looked around with surprise as the interior of the truck started to freeze over, with frost and ice appearing on the ground and walls around the snow angel. Sun looked around worriedly as Ceal kept working on restoring Mizore's body.

"You think you can take my Dark from me?" Arial demanded as her eyes grew colder.

Outside in the courtyard the two heavy gunners were firing at the vehicles with a focused glare as the humvees were parked by the destroyed pyramid display. One of them was shooting up a downed SUV while the other was pelting the truck that had its front engine blown off. Standing outside on both sides of the humvees were HDA soldiers firing their rifles at the trucks as well, all eight of them trying to gun down the escaping monsters while people all around were running away screaming. They shot out all the wheels and windows, all while trying to pierce through the armored chassis to take down the monsters within.

"Keep firing, don't let those things escape!" a soldier called out. Another grabbed his radio as he ducked back inside one of the humvees.

"We have them pinned down in the galleria, we need backup here!" he yelled out into the device before reloading his rifle.

Suddenly a blast of red light shot out of thin air and struck through one of the top gunners, the man jerking back as the light pierced through his head. As he fell down into the vehicle a soldier by the front door was slashed down his chest by an invisible blade, the man crying out as he dropped down. The other soldiers looked with surprise as another blast of red light flew out of thin air and struck down the other heavy gunner.

"What the hell is that?" a soldier yelled out looking around franticly. He looked down to seeing the pin from his grenade being pulled off, the man then being punched back into the vehicle next to him. The grenade blasted the humvee into a fireball as the other soldiers stumbled back.

"Where are they? I don't see them!" a soldier yelled out before he was sliced down the middle by an invisible blade. Another was shot down by a bright red light and flew back into the side of the other humvee. Soldiers looked around quickly before another was slashed down and one more was shot by the bright red projectile.

"Dammit, get us some damned backup now!" a soldier yelled into his radio. His hand twisted around as the pin popped off of his grenade, the man then being thrown into the humvee as his other comrade was shot point blank in the head by a bright red light. The vehicle blasted apart as Dark, Apoch, and Astreal appeared away from it, the trio looking at the downed HDA soldiers with discontent.

"Apoch, check on Moka and her group. Astreal, make sure Ruby and hers are alright." Dark said glancing to the sisters.

"Right." they said as they ran towards the vehicles. Dark ran back towards where Mizore and Arial were, the demon looking around quickly to seeing people screaming and pointing at them.

"This isn't going to end well." he said dryly.

Apoch ran up to the overturned SUV and looked around worriedly.

"Ms. Moka? Ms. Kurumu? Hey, are you ok?" she called out. She saw Moka, Kurumu, and Rason slowly crawling out the back window as Gabriel climbed out the front window. The witch hurried over and helped Moka stand up, then helped Kurumu crawl out.

"Are you all alright?" Apoch asked worriedly as she helped the succubus stand up. Moka looked back to the SUV with remorse.

"Not all of us." she said softly. Apoch looked in and saw Sandra buckled in still, the girl motionless as blood dripped from her head.

"Oh dear, the poor girl." she said with remorse. Gabriel looked back in at the fallen human then down with closed eyes.

Astreal ran over to the other truck and hopped up onto the side door, the witch looking in worriedly to seeing the front dashboard and seats torn apart.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" she called out.

"Astreal? What's going on out there?" Yukari said as the group looked to her from the back of the truck.

"Is everybody ok?" Astreal asked worriedly.

"I believe we are, yes." Fang Fang said looking around at the group who was keeping their distance from the front of the truck.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here right now." Astreal said jumping off the truck. The others quickly bolted out the back door and followed after as Apoch and Moka's group ran towards the other truck. Dark ran up to the vehicle quickly but before he could climb back inside Arial and Render tumbled out of the front, the boy trying to hold the arms of the snow angel who was yelling out furiously.

"LET ME GO!" Arial yelled out as the ground around her flash froze in an instant. The boy shivered as his arms frosted over while he tried to hold the raging snow angel back, the boy holding onto her arms as she thrashed around in his grip.

"Calm down kid, you need to chill out!" Render said as he struggled to keep the snow angel down. He was then yanked back and swung around into the side of the truck, the boy being held against it as Dark held onto his throat tightly.

"How DARE you touch Arial like that!" he roared out as the ground around him darkened. Render grabbed the demon's arms and tried to free himself while his legs kicked around under him. Arial looked over to Dark and stared with loving eyes, the girl's hands and hair returning to normal as she was captivated by her demon once again.

_My husband…_

Dark growled then tightened his grip around Render's neck.

"Nobody touches Arial." he said coldly.

"Hey…c'mon man…I was just trying to help." Render coughed out.

"Dark, please don't hurt him!" Apoch cried out as she and Moko's group ran over to the scene. Leon, Complica, and Sun jumped out of the back of the truck and looked over with surprise as well, with Leon then running over towards them.

"Put him down!" he yelled as he grabbed the demon's arm and tried to release his friend.

"Please Dark! I'm begging you, don't hurt my boyfriend!" Apoch cried out. Dark glanced over to her as Moka's group looked to her curiously.

"Boyfriend? This guy's your boyfriend?" Kurumu said looking to Render. The boy smiled weakly and nodded as Dark glared back at him.

"Hey…nice…to meet you…by the way. Heard…a lot of…good things about you. So…could you please…let me go?" he coughed out weakly. Dark growled loudly then threw him over into Leon, the two tumbling down next to the truck as the demon glared at them.

"If you _ever_ touch Arial again, I will kill you where you stand." he said with a cold tone. Arial smiled bashfully then ran over to him, the girl hugging him at the side and smiling arrogantly at Render. Leon and his friend slowly got up as Render caught his breath, with Apoch running over to him worriedly.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she helped him regain his balance. He breathed in and nodded a bit.

"Yeah, so…that's your old boyfriend huh? He seems…nice." he said with a small smile. Apoch smiled a bit then looked back towards Dark, the demon looking down at Arial with a gentle gaze as he had one hand holding her gently. The girl was nuzzling her head against his side, her wings fluttering a bit as she was held by her demon.

"Are you guys alright? We saw you crash pretty badly there." Razico said looking to Moka. The vampire nodded then looked down.

"We're fine, but…" she said glancing back to the SUV. Complica looked around curiously then to Moka.

"Where's Sandra?" she asked. Sun looked around quickly then to Moka, the vampire slowly shaking her head and looking back to the chronofly angel.

"I'm sorry Complica…" she said softly. Arial looked over to her then to the SUV that was crashed into the clothing store nearby. Sun shook her head then ran over to it.

"Oh no…" Complica said quietly looking over to the siren. Sun ran over and looked inside, then covered her mouth as she stared with wide eyes at something.

"Sandra." Arial said softly. Sun started crying, the girl shaking her head as she saw her friend's body in the SUV.

"The poor girl, this wasn't her fight. She didn't deserve that." Gabriel said with remorse. Gin ran over to Sun as she was holding her hands to her face, the girl making quiet whimpering sounds as she shook her head. He looked into the SUV and saw Sandra's body still in the driver's seat.

"Sun…I'm sorry." Gin said softly as he looked back to her. The siren looked to him then quickly hugged the boy close, the girl burying her face into his chest as he held her. Kokoa growled as she saw the girl hugging her boyfriend, the vampire then running towards them.

"Hey! Let go of my-"

"Kokoa stop!" Gin yelled out at her, the vampire stopping instantly and looking at him with surprise.

"Not right now, don't make this worse for her." Gin said sternly. Kokoa looked at the boy worriedly then to Sun, the siren holding onto Gin as she cried into his chest. The human may have been rude before in the past, but she did have a good heart and even tried to come to the siren's rescue despite the overwhelming odds. Slowly Kokoa looked down and away as Gin started walking the siren back towards the group.

"She's…dead?" Arial said softly.

"Yes, she died trying to save us." Moka said looking down. Complica whimpered and wiped a tear away, then looked towards Arial. The snow angel looked down with closed eyes, the angel hoping the human would be taken to heaven for her noble efforts.

"We'll pay our respects to her for what she did later, but right now we need to get out of here." Razico said looking around at the mall. Sun nodded and wiped a tear away as Gin let her go, the siren glancing to him with worried eyes while Kokoa watched her closely. The group then looked over to see Mizore slowly climbing out of the truck, the girl standing on her own and looking towards them with a curious glance.

"Mizore, you're alright." Moka said with relief. Dark walked over to the snow girl as Arial blinked then saw her demon wasn't holding her anymore. She then looked over towards Mizore with anger as the snow girl was held by Dark.

"Are you alright now?" he asked as he held her close. The girl looked over his shoulder and saw Arial glaring at her, the group looking at her as she shook with anger. Mizore held onto Dark worriedly as the demon was still looking ahead, the boy not seeing the murderous look in Arial's eyes.

"She'll be fine demon." Ceal said as he hopped out the back of the truck. The group looked to him as he glanced around the mall slowly.

"Her body is as good as new again. However that will be the last time I do such a service for you." he said simply. Dark looked at him carefully then nodded.

"I see. Thank you for helping her." Dark said as he held his girl close. Mizore glanced back to Ceal then to Arial again, the snow maiden holding onto her fiancé closely as she saw fury in Arial's eyes. Ceal merely looked away without saying a word. Dark leaned back from his embrace and looked at his girl carefully.

"I was worried about you, are you sure you're feeling better?" he said as he held his girl close to him. Mizore glanced to him and slowly nodded.

"Yeah...I feel much better now. Just a little warm is all." she said softly. Sun walked over to Mizore and held out a mint colored lollipop, the snow girl looking at it curiously then to Sun. She slowly took the candy and looked at it as Dark glanced to Sun cautiously.

"Wait…this is…" she said looking at the candy carefully. She put it in her mouth then looked to Sun curiously as it started to help her body keep cool.

"It's chilled…but how did you…" she said in wonder. Sun glanced to Arial then back to Mizore, the snow girl looking to the angel worriedly as the girl was growling through bared teeth with a lollipop stick being seen in her mouth. Sun wrote down something on her pad and showed Mizore.

I know all about snow women and their need to stay cool, I brought these along for Arial.

Mizore and Dark read the pad then looked at Sun curiously.

"Just who are you anyway?" Mizore asked as Dark let his embrace go, the demon looking at the siren carefully.

"I'd like an answer to that myself." Kokoa growled with annoyance.

"Again, we'll play Q and A later guys, right now we need to go." Razico said as they heard engine roars and yelling coming from where they had raced through the galleria.

"They're sending more of them in here after us, we gotta get out of here now." Render said looking around.

"Well we're not driving in those things anymore." Ruby said looking to the two trucks that were smoking and had all their tires shot out.

"What are we going to do, just walk out of here?" Ahakon said shaking his head.

"Actually, yes." Dark said glancing out into the mall. The group looked at him curiously as Arial ran over to him and held him around the waist again, the snow angel shooting Mizore a glare before looking up at Dark with timid eyes. He smiled down at her as Mizore looked between the two with worry.

"Let's go, we need to disappear." he said as he lifted Arial up into his arms. The snow angel smiled timidly and nuzzled against his chest, the girl holding onto his shirt as he glanced back to the others.

"Disappear?" Moka asked curiously. Dark nodded and looked ahead while Mizore watched Dark with concern as he held his guardian angel in his arms.

"Follow me." he said, then started running into the mall. The group quickly chased after him, with Mizore watching her fiancé worriedly as he was carrying the snow angel that clearly had it out for her. And it was clear to everybody that Dark would protect Arial, and wouldn't let anything harm her as her soul was exposed and vulnerable down here on earth. As they ran out of the damaged courtyard Sun glanced over to the crashed SUV, the girl showing a remorseful expression then following after the others.

_Sandra…thank you for coming after me. Please, rest in peace my friend._

* * *

On the second floor of the mall people were running out of stores and towards the exits with haste as some watched HDA trucks drive into the mall and park near the other vehicles that were heavily damaged. Soldiers started to jump out and run around the area, with some urging people to evacuate the building immediately while others searched the empty vehicles. As the armed men started to sweep the area for the escaped monsters police officials and HDA soldiers were guarding the exits, with armed men watching the people being quickly evacuated.

"Oh man, we're surrounded here." Render said looking down over the railing, the boy dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He put a baseball cap on looked over to Leon, the boy watching the people running around in a panic down below while he was dressed in blue jean shorts and a button-down gray shirt.

"C'mon, we need to get the others and get out of here." he said as they ran back into the nearby clothing store. The place was nearly empty as the staff and customers had fled during the shootout, however it wasn't deserted.

"Hurry up guys, they're going to be coming through here soon." Render called out as they ran down the isles of racks filled with human clothing. They raced over to the dressing rooms as a few others of their group were waiting there still. Moka and Kurumu had already changed out of their school uniforms, with the vampire wearing a light gray jeans with a gray sweater, the vampire having the hood pulled up with her hair tucked back inside. Kurumu was wearing a purple miniskirt, a black low-cut t-shirt that seemed to be a size too small as her assets were very noticeable, and white tennis shoes. Ruby was wearing a long black skirt and a white dress shirt, the elder witch glancing to Kurumu with a raised eyebrow.

"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile." she said dryly. Kurumu smirked and looked at her amusingly.

"I am, what's wrong with this outfit?" she asked as she struck a pose with one hand at her hip and the other behind her head, the girl's breasts bouncing a bit as Moka sighed and glanced away.

"Oh yeah, all the men out there won't notice her at all. Very inconspicuous." Leon said flatly. Render shook his head then looked around.

"Whatever, where are the others? We need to get out of here now." he said urgently.

"We're all set." Apoch and Astreal said from behind. The boys looked over to seeing the twins running up to them, both girls wearing white jeans with Apoch wearing a gray hoodie while Astreal wore a light blue one.

"Do we look alright like this?" Astreal said looking down at her clothing.

"This is a common appearance, yes?" Apoch questioned.

"You look great." Render and Leon said with smiles at the girls. The twins looked to them and smiled a bit as the boys stared at them with gentle smiles.

"Thank you." the girls said in unison.

"Hey, we all ready?" Yukari called out as she ran over to the group with Ahakon. The young witch was dressed in a white miniskirt with a light brown t-shirt, the girl having a gray backpack behind her. Ahakon was wearing dark blue jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a black baseball cap.

"Almost, just waiting on the others." Moka said looking back to the dressing room doors.

"You still have my wand with you?" Ruby asked curiously. Yukari nodded and waved her backpack a bit.

"Yep, got our wands right here." she said assuredly.

"Where's Ran?" Ahakon asked looking around.

"She was still getting changed I think." Astreal said looking back from where they came from.

"We'll go check on her." Apoch said, the twins then running back to where they changed as Render and Leon watched with slight smiles, the boys seeing the girls running with their hips swaying a bit. Render chuckled and crossed his arms before him.

"Told ya man." he said confidently.

"And I'm telling you they look exactly the same." Leon said glancing to him. Render shook his head and glanced to his friend.

"Nope, Apoch's got more of a wiggle to her. Don't get me wrong, your girlfriend is alright, I'm just saying is all." He said with a smirk and shrug.

"Wait, you're Astreal's boyfriend?" Moka said looking to Leon.

"Wiggle?" Ruby said with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. Leon nodded and glanced back to the girls.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" he asked. Moka looked at the two boys then shook her head.

"No, I'm glad they found somebody in the human world. Really." she said with a small smile.

"Ok, we're ready." Gin said as he and Kokoa ran over to the group. The wolf was wearing blue jeans, a white dress shirt and a long sleeve green shirt over it left undone. Kokoa was wearing a red miniskirt, a white t-shirt with a small pink jacket over it and had her hair up in pigtails again with red bows. Kou was again perched on her shoulder as he looked around at the group's new outfits. Gin glanced around the store as Kokoa looked at Kurumu curiously.

"What's this? We're trying to be discrete here." she said shaking her head. Kurumu scoffed at that and looked away arrogantly.

"There's nothing wrong with how I'm dressed." she said firmly.

"Why is Kurumu wearing that?" Razico said as he walked over to the group, the warlock dressed in black jeans, a gray t-shirt with a black and red sports jacket over it. Kurumu growled and glared at the warlock.

"What's wrong with me wearing this?" she yelled out.

"It may be a bit…flashy my dear." Rason said from behind. The group looked to see Rason and Gabriel walking up to them, with Rason wearing his blue jeans, white shirt and a yellow long sleeve shirt over it that was unbuttoned, while Gabriel was wearing his ripped jeans still along with a white shirt and green jacket over it. Kurumu smiled brightly then raced over to her boyfriend in a blur.

"I knew you'd like it Rason, I just knew you would love your girl wearing something like this! You are a man after all, my man! And don't you worry, I'm only showing off what's yours, nobody else could ever have this girl! Never in a million years!" she cheered out as she hugged her boyfriend tightly.

"Um, Kurumu?" Gabriel said worriedly. The others just watched as after a moment's pause Kurumu cried out and started shaking her dazed boyfriend with fright.

"Poor angel." Yukari said shaking her head.

"You'd think he'd see it coming by now." Ruby said raising an eyebrow at the couple. As Rason slowly came to again with Kurumu franticly apologizing another boy walked up to the group. Ceal was wearing his same outfit of black jeans and t-shirt as well as wearing a black leather glove over his reptilian hand.

"Always with black." Razico said shaking his head.

"You're one to talk hunter." the boy said glancing to him.

"How come you guys didn't change into different clothes? We're trying to avoid being seen by the HDA, remember?" Yukari said looking at the catalyst mage then to the angels. Ceal merely glanced to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I imagine the demon only suggested this for your school uniforms and obvious monster apparel, the rest of us didn't have to change." he said simply. Render and Leon blinked then looked down to their clothes.

"Oh, really? We didn't need to change as well?" Render asked.

"I guess our normal clothes would have been fine in the human world still, we already looked like average humans anyway." Leon said with a shrug. Ceal rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Idiots." he said simply.

"Hey! Don't call them idiots!" Apoch and Astreal shouted out from behind. The group looked to see the witch sisters glaring at Ceal while Ran stood next to them, the siren wearing black shoes with long white socks, a blue and green miniskirt, a light green t-shirt and a blue bracelet over her left wrist. She had her glasses on still but no longer wore her usual Greek ivy headdress. She looked at Ahakon with timid eyes then glanced away.

"Um, is this alright?" she asked. Ahakon smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you look great Ran." he said. Ran looked to him with a timid smile as Apoch and Astreal walked up towards their boyfriends.

"Stop calling them idiots, we couldn't have saved our friends without their help." Apoch said sternly.

"Yes, besides they look great in these clothes anyway. They do have good taste in clothing, unlike somebody." Astreal said firmly. Render and Leon glanced to each other then back towards the clothing racks.

"Be right back." Render said as he headed towards the clothes, with Apoch looking to him with surprise.

"We'll be back in a minute, don't mind us." Leon said as he followed after his friend, with Astreal blinking then watching the boys run off.

"What? Hey, wait." Apoch said as she somewhat reached out after Render.

"You don't need to change again, really." Astreal said worriedly. The sisters glanced to each other then back to Ceal, the boy merely raising an eyebrow at them.

"Good taste in clothing huh?" he said flatly. The sisters gave him dull glares then looked away with a scoff.

"I must say, today's been quite the rollercoaster." Fang Fang said walking up to the group, the yasha dressed in brown dress pants, a white undershirt with a gray dress shirt over it that was buttoned up halfway. His long braided hair waved a bit behind him as he walked up to the others.

"You can say that again." Kokoa said looking down with discontent, the vampire feeling frustrated about Gin's old friend showing up like this still. The group looked over to the dressing room doors as one opened and Complica ran out, the girl still dressed the same but now had a pink jacket on over her wings. She looked around at the others while holding her baseball bat.

"Are you ok Complica?" Kurumu asked gently. The chronofly looked at her curiously then tilted her head.

"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked. Kurumu twitched a bit then forced a smile to hide her anger.

"I'm just dressed casually like all of you." she said with a simple nod. Complica showed a concerned expression and pointed her bat at something.

"I think you forgot your…bra." she said softly. The group looked to Kurumu as the girl tried to hide her scowl with a forced smile, the girl laughing weakly as Rason glanced down to the girl's bust with a slight blush.

"There weren't any in this store that could fit me. Besides I'm ok like this, really." she said through bared teeth. Rason blushed a bit more as Moka and Ruby rolled their eyes. Complica looked at the succubus with worry then glanced to Gabriel.

"Isn't she going to attract attention walking out there like that?" she asked.

"I'm not attracting attention! This is a normal human appearance!" Kurumu yelled out.

"It is if you're working the corner." Ceal said flatly while still looking away. Kurumu growled then glared at the boy.

"Hey, watch it buddy!" she yelled out.

"Don't mind him Kurumu, he's always like that." Razico said shaking his head. Kurumu growled a bit then looked away with a scoff.

"I think I look good, and so does my angel. So the rest of you can just deal with it." she said firmly. She looked over and saw Sun slowly walking towards the group, the siren looking down as she was dressed the same while having a sun hat on. She walked up to the group then glanced to them, the girl having a slightly saddened expression still.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Moka said softly. Sun glanced to her and slowly nodded, then looked down again.

"I'm sure she got into heaven, right Gabriel?" Complica said looking to the redheaded angel. The boy nodded and looked at Sun with a bit of remorse.

"I'm sure she did." he said gently. Kokoa glanced to the siren with discontent then away, the vampire choosing not to verbally attack the girl since she just lost somebody close to her. The group then looked over to a dressing room door as Mizore walked out of it, the girl walking towards the group while glancing behind her at another door. She was her usual outfit again with a new sweater and undershirt, only this time her skirt was white and black stripped instead of the Yokai Academy colors. She held Render's jacket in one hand as she walked over to the group, the girl then handing it to Apoch. The witch took it with a small smile as Mizore looked back to the changing rooms.

"Are you really ok now Mizore? You were torn up something fierce back there." Kokoa asked worriedly. The snow maiden nodded and glanced to Ceal.

"Yeah, I feel as good as new again." she said softly. Ceal glanced to her then looked away again without saying anything. Mizore then looked to Kurumu and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you wearing?" she asked.

"For crying out loud, there is nothing wrong with me dressing like this!" Kurumu yelled out with frustration. Mizore merely looked at her with a blank expression then over to the dressing room doors.

"So…what are we going to do about…her?" Ruby said looking to the doors as well.

"We need to get her and Complica back into heaven before anything happens to them." Gabriel said looking up with worry.

"What about Mizore? I don't think Arial is just going to let her be near Dark again." Moka said looking to Mizore, the snow girl having a worried expression on her face. Before anybody could say anything regarding how Arial would likely kill Mizore the second she got the chance Render and Leon walked back to the group, the two boys dressed again in their usual attire.

"Much better." Render said looking down at his outfit, the boy then looking to Apoch as the witch smiled a bit while holding out his jacket to him. He smiled and took it then looked to Mizore as he slipped it on.

"Hope it wasn't too warm for you." he said with a chuckle. Mizore smiled a bit and shook her head.

"No, and thank you for that." she said softly. Render nodded as he zipped up his jacket, the boy then shivering a bit as the fabric was chilled from the snow girl.

"No problem, ha, I think you got it plenty cool for me." he said with a weak smile. Mizore shrugged with a small smile then looked back to the dressing room doors with concern as Apoch smiled amusingly at her boyfriend. Astreal smiled gently at Leon, both witch sisters feeling drawn to their new boyfriends even with the boys' unique clothing style.

"So now that we're all in casual human clothing, what's next? Where do we go?" Leon asked.

"Well hopefully like this we can sneak out of here with the crowds and get away from this city." Moka said looking down at her outfit.

"We need to get to the nearest gateway into the monster world. We're not safe here in this world anymore, and we need to bring you guys back before anything else goes wrong." Ruby said worriedly.

"Just what else has gone wrong besides the humans trying to kill us all and these two souls being trapped down here?" Rason asked glancing to Gabriel. The redheaded angel looked down worriedly and shook his head.

"A lot my friend, a lot." he said with remorse.

"Today sucks, just gonna put that out there." Gin said shaking his head. Kokoa nodded in agreement to that as Kou squeaked a bit. The group looked over to the side as Dark walked towards them, the boy dressed in new clothing that looked the same as his older set. He glanced to the dressing room door then to Mizore.

"Did she find something to cover her wings?" he asked.

"I'm not sure." she said glancing to the doors. She had more or less grabbed a new pair of clothing and darted into the dressing room before Arial found out which one she went into, the snow girl in a rush to change into new clothing and to remain out of Arial's sight when Dark wasn't near.

"Once she's ready we need to go, the HDA will be sweeping through here soon." Render said as he looked around the clothing department.

"Are you KIDDING ME?" Arial's voice yelled out. The group looked to the dressing rooms as the snow angel screamed with frustration. Dark ran over to the door as the group glanced to each other worriedly.

"Arial? What's wrong?" Dark asked urgently. The door opened and Arial walked out, the girl still dressed in her same outfit with her frosted wings behind her. She looked up at Dark with worry and held up a black jacket, the clothing having been reduced to tatters.

"My wings keep cutting up anything I put on over them, I can't hide them." she said bouncing up and down worriedly. Dark looked at the torn up jacket then to the girl's wings. Like Rason and Gabriel the two monster angels couldn't retract their wings in all the way, since their natural form was with them out. Complica's wings could retract slightly and fold to be concealed under a jacket like Rason's could, but Arial's were too ridged and jagged, the frozen feathers ripping apart anything she tried to put over them. She couldn't even retract the wings a little bit, the girl's frozen angelic extensions being the same size as always.

"I can't hide them, what do I do Dark?" she said worriedly.

"This is a problem, there's no way the HDA or any human within eyeshot of her is going to miss those wings." Fang Fang said worriedly.

"She can't retract them or conceal them with any clothing, what are we going to do?" Moka asked worriedly. Dark smirked and held Arial's hand, the girl looking at him with wonder.

"Just stay close to me and hold my hand, you'll be fine." he said as the girl vanished into a black wisp. Arial looked around as she saw her body shrouded a bit with a black shadow then looked to Dark with a curious smile.

"Of course, Dark can just cloak her. Keeping one monster concealed won't be a problem for him." Yukari said with a smile.

"You're the greatest Dark." Arial's voice said bashfully. Mizore showed a bit of concern, the girl worried that not only could she not keep Arial in her sights but now the snow angel would have to remain close to Dark one way or another. The demon smirked then looked around the group.

"Alright, we need to get out of here. Just keep with the crowds of humans and don't act out of the ordinary. As far as they're concerned we're just scared humans as well." he said in a commanding tone. He then looked to Moka and Kokoa.

"And you two need to keep your mouths shut." he said. The vampire sisters looked at him bewildered.

"Hey, I wasn't going to say anything to the HDA, are you serious?" Kokoa said with annoyance. Dark glanced to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I meant keep your mouth shut so they can't see your fangs." he said dryly. Moka and Kokoa blinked then glanced to each other, the two girls then smiling weakly and nodding.

"Right, that's why." Kokoa said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Your bat should probably hide as well, humans don't normally walk around with them perched on their shoulders." Render said looking at Kou. The bat squeaked then dove down into Kokoa's jacket pocket, the girl smilingly confidently.

"Easily done." she said with a shrug.

"C'mon, we need to get out with the crowds while they're still inside. If we leave on our own it may be more suspicious." Leon said looking towards the exit of the store.

"Where are we going to go once we're outside? We're in the middle of a human city." Ran asked worriedly.

"We need to get some transportation, and fast." Render said looking down in thought. Ceal rolled his eyes and glanced towards the exit.

"There's bound to be a parking structure next to the galleria if this place is so large, we'll go there and get new vehicles." he said simply.

"Anything would beat walking the streets." Leon said in agreement. Apoch and Astreal pulled up their hoods from their sweaters and glanced to each other as Complica ran over to Ceal, the girl grabbing onto his hand. He glanced down to her as she had a worried expression on her face, the boy then looking ahead as he didn't make an effort to free his hand from her grip.

"Let's get going then." he said as he and the chronofly started walking out. The group followed after, with Arial holding onto Dark's hand and remaining invisible to the naked eye. Even though she couldn't be seen Mizore was sure the snow angel was glaring at her, and she was also sure that going near Dark right now might provoke the temperamental snow angel.

The group headed out of the clothing store then ran quickly down the mall as a few other humans were busy running out as well. They raced down the escalators then towards one of the exits of the large building, where a crowd of people were gathered as they slowly moved through an HDA checkpoint. Several armed soldiers and policemen were motioning the crowd to leave through a few of the doors of the building while looking around carefully for anything suspicious.

"Ok, remember, act normal." Moka said worriedly.

The group gathered together as the crowd ahead of them gradually passed by the soldiers, the armed men examining them carefully then waving them through while the people were screaming and trying to push through. As the group got closer the HDA soldiers eyed them closely while holding their rifles.

"They're watching us." Ran said nervously as she tried to keep looking ahead.

"Don't look at them, just keep moving forward." Ruby said quietly.

They approached the exit before two HDA soldiers walked in front of the group and held out their hands.

"Hold it." one of them said sternly. The group glanced to each other then back to the soldiers as two more HDA soldiers walked over as well. They started whispering to each other as they eyed the group carefully.

"That one looks familiar." a soldier said pointing to Kurumu. The group looked to her as she gulped and smiled nervously.

"Yeah…she does…" another soldier said with a keen eye.

"Kurumu…" Ruby growled quietly. The succubus twitched a bit and glanced around at the group worriedly.

"We told you that outfit was too flashy." Yukari whispered sternly.

"C'mon, it's not that flashy…is it?" Kurumu said quietly.

"Goddammit Ms. Kurumu." Astreal said looking away with closed eyes.

"Now what?" Gabriel said quietly. After a pause Ceal stepped forward while holding Complica's hand.

"What are you stopping us for? Can't you see my little sister is scared out of her mind? Let us through at once!" he said sternly as Complica looked at the soldiers with watery eyes. The soldiers glanced to him then to Complica as she held onto the boy's hand tightly. Ahakon glanced to the mage then walked forward with an expression of fright.

"Please let us out of here, there's monsters back there!" he cried out, the boy trembling with fear as the soldiers glanced to him.

"Get me out of here now!" Yukari cried out, the witch crying a bit as the men glanced to each other.

"Somebody save us!" Apoch and Astreal cried out together while trembling. The soldiers looked to each other then back to the group.

"I thought the HDA was supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening, why are there monsters in the goddamned mall?" Gin yelled out at the soldiers. The men looked at him worriedly as the group glared at them.

"Do your damned job and kill those things already!" Ruby yelled out.

"Well…um…" one of the soldiers said nervously.

"This is crazy, what are we paying you guys for anyway?" Razico yelled out at the men with anger.

"It's just…um…" one of the armed men said slowly. They looked to Kurumu and smiled a bit.

"Aren't you…Roxetta Rola?" one of them asked. The group looked to Kurumu who just blinked with a puzzled expression.

"Um…who?" she asked.

"It's just, you look just like the teen idol Roxetta Rola, we thought you were her." one of the men said with a shrug and a smirk. Kurumu glanced around then back to the soldiers, then smiled a bit.

"Um…no, sorry boys." she said shaking her head.

"Amazing, she looks just like her." one of the men said with an impressed smile. Kurumu laughed a bit and fluffed her hair as she looked away smugly.

"Well, I do get that a lot. I've been told I look pretty good in this outfit." she said with a shrug. Rason glanced to her with an amused smirk while the group just looked at her with dull expressions.

"Wait a minute, you mean the only reason you're stopping us is because you think she's a teen idol?" Ruby said with a puzzled expression as she looked back to the HDA soldier. The men jumped a bit then looked around at the group with somewhat focused expressions.

"We were just making sure is all, now please…leave this area at once." one said hastily as he waved the group towards the exits. The group glanced to each other then quickly ran past the soldiers as the men watched Kurumu curiously. One of them whistled and looked back towards the mall as the group left the building.

"What I wouldn't give to get a hottie like that." he said with a laugh.

"Yeah right, you'd have better luck getting a monster into bed with you." another said with a chuckle.

The large group of monsters ran out of the mall and down the sidewalk, the group running with other people as HDA and police cars and trucks were parked all around the street. The group followed the crowd as they were quickly waved towards the side of the road by policemen.

"C'mon, all of you need to get out of here now! Let's go!" a policeman yelled out as he waved the crowd past him. The group ran with the crowd past the blockade of soldiers and armed forces, then darted off into the nearby parking structure across the street. Inside the multistory concrete building people were rushing to get to their cars as some were driving out quickly. A few crashed into each other while others raced down into the street and drove off as fast as they could.

"So now what do we do?" Yukari asked.

"For starters you can say you're sorry for doubting my taste in fashion. After all, I was complimented for my perfect looks by armed soldiers." Kurumu said arrogantly as she looked up while crossing her arms. Yukari blinked then reached back into her backpack. A moment later a golden washtub dropped onto Kurumu's head, the girl dropping down with a thud as Yukari looked around again.

"So, now what?" she asked again.

"What…just happened?" Render said looking down at Kurumu.

"Where did that come from?" Leon said looking to the spinning golden basin next to the dazed succubus. Sun and Complica looked at the washtub curiously as well. Kurumu jumped back up and tried to charge the young witch as Rason held her back with a tired smile.

"Please can we just get a ride out of here?" Ran said worriedly while looking around. Outside more HDA trucks and police cars were driving around while helicopter sounds were heard above. Ceal started walking over towards the side of the structure where a few cars were parked, the boy looking around at them carefully.

"If you're trying to pick a color, why not black?" Razico said flatly as the group followed after him. Ceal glanced to him then to a nearby car…that was black. He held his gloved hand to the driver side window and a soft black hue glowed around it. Complica watched inside the car as a dark tentacle came through the seat from a rift, the long appendage swaying over and unlocking the door.

"Wow…" she said softly as Ceal opened the door from the outside, the boy then walking over to another car nearby as his magic faded from inside the vehicle.

"What's wrong? Not the shade of black you're looking for?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow. Dark walked over to the opened car and let go of Arial's hand, the angel coming into view and watching him as he lay down on the seat and broke open the paneling under the steering wheel.

"I'm merely providing you all with a ride, is there a problem with that?" Ceal asked glancing back to Ruby. The witch blinked then looked over to see Dark digging around inside the car's paneling. The group watched as after a moment the demon hotwired the car and started it up. He sat up in the seat and smirked at Arial.

"You're riding with me." he said. The girl eagerly nodded then ran around to the front passenger door, the girl jumping in and looking at Dark with loving eyes. The demon smiled a bit at her then looked to Mizore.

"Let's go my little snow bunny." he said. Arial glared at Mizore with fury as her hair froze over slightly, the group looking at the snow angel then to Mizore as she had a worried expression. She slowly glanced to Moka and grabbed her hand, the snow girl tugging her over slightly. Moka smiled nervously and nodded then the two got into the backseat of the car. Dark closed his door and looked around in front of him while Arial glared back at Mizore, the snow girl and vampire looking at her nervously as they leaned back in their seats.

Ceal unlocked another car and started walking towards a nearby SUV, the boy holding onto Complica's hand still as the chronofly watched him use his magic with wonder.

"I got this one." Leon said running over to the car. Astreal smiled a bit and followed after him.

"Shotgun!" she called out. Apoch and Render glanced to each other then followed after them as Leon started to hotwire the car. Astreal watched him curiously as the boy started up the car, the mage glancing to her with a wink.

"Where did you learn to do this?" she asked before she walked around and got in the car. Apoch and Render got in the back seats as Leon sat in the driver's seat.

"We were on the road a lot with our work, it helped to have a set of wheels wherever we might go." he said with a shrug. Apoch looked at him curiously then to Render.

"Do you know how to do that as well?" she asked. The boy smiled weakly and shook his head.

"No, Leon's been the driver of the group. I've just been the muscle." he said with a shrug. Apoch smiled timidly and held onto his arm, the boy looking at her with a gentle smile as Leon glanced back to them.

"I'll say." she said softly as she remembered his fighting form.

"You two start making out back there and I'm kicking you out." Leon said as he looked ahead again.

"You're just no fun man." Render said with a chuckle. Apoch merely giggled as Astreal rolled her eyes.

Ceal unlocked the door to the SUV then started walking towards another car while Razico and Ruby walked up to the vehicle. The warlock got into the driver's seat and started to hotwire it as Ruby watched him curiously.

"Do all treasure hunters know how to hotwire cars?" she asked playfully. He chuckled and shrugged.

"Not sure, it's not a requirement. But it does help." he said. Yukari, Ahakon, and Ran walked up to them as Razico started the truck for them. He sat up and smiled confidently at them.

"Let's go home." he said, the group nodding then quickly getting into the truck. Ruby sat in the front passenger seat as Ran sat in the back seat next to Ahakon and Yukari, the boy between the two as the girls were holding his hands tightly. He glanced from one to the other then ahead with a worried expression.

Ceal walked over to another car and unlocked it, then glanced to Fang Fang.

"Can you drive?" he asked. The yasha smiled nervously and nodded.

"Well, I do know how to drive a bit, yes." he said.

"Then you're not completely worthless. You can drive this one." Ceal said simply as he started walking towards another SUV. Fang Fang smiled weakly then jumped a bit.

"Um…but I don't know how to hotwire these things." he said looking to Ceal. The catalyst mage looked back to him with a cold stare.

"Then you are worthless to us." he said as black tentacles started to form around the yasha. Complica looked at Ceal worriedly then to Fang Fang, the girl holding onto Ceal's normal hand tightly. Fang Fang waved his hands around nervously and shook his head.

"Please, I'll gladly drive your friends to your destination, if somebody could start it for me." he pleaded. Gin looked at the yasha for a moment then to Dark, the wolf then waving to him.

"Think you can start this thing before we see this kid get mutilated?" he asked flatly. Dark rolled his eyes and opened his door, the boy then glancing to Arial.

"I'll be right back, stay here." he said. Arial nodded while staring at him with dreamy eyes. The demon got out and closed the door then walked towards the other car as Fang Fang smiled nervously at him.

"Thank you good sir, I do appreciate-"

"Stop talking." Dark said as he walked past him towards the car. Fang Fang hesitated then smiled weakly. Ceal just looked at the yasha for a moment then started walking towards another SUV with Complica following with him.

Arial watched Dark get into the other car and start to hotwire it then looked back to Mizore with a cold glare. Mizore and Moka smiled nervously at the snow angel as the temperature started to drop.

"Arial…easy now…you don't want to do anything rash here." Moka said worriedly.

"How the hell are you still alive?" Arial said with anger. Mizore glanced to Ceal then back to Arial.

"Um…lucky break?" she said softly. Arial gripped the seat tightly, her hand freezing into an ice claw that the two other girls stared at with worry. The snow angel growled loudly as Mizore glanced to seeing Dark still working on starting the other car.

"Calm down Arial, if you attack her again Dark will find out…he won't be happy." Moka said shaking her head.

"She has no right to be with my demon, Dark is mine. Forever!" Arial yelled out. Moka and Mizore glanced to each other then looked back to Arial as the snow angel continued to glare with fire in her eyes at the one that was taking her demon away from her.

"But Arial…Dark loves Mizore, he even marked her to be his wife. She's the one he wants to be with." Moka said nervously. Arial glanced to her then to Mizore.

"Marked?" she asked slowly. Mizore nodded quickly and glanced down to her chest.

"My heart has his mark on it, it means he chose me to be his wife." she said softly. Arial glanced to her chest then glared at the girl.

"Then I'll guess I'll have to get rid of that mark, won't I?" she said through bared teeth as her eyes flickered white. Her hair froze over as Mizore's eyes widened, the girl glancing to Dark out in the other car then back to Arial. The snow angel geared back with her ice claw then looked over to the side as the car Dark was at started up. The demon got up out of the car and started walking back as Fang Fang got into the started vehicle along with Rason, Kurumu, and Gabriel. Arial growled and slowly lowered her claw, the ice and frost then vanishing as she glared back at Mizore.

"I'm the only one that's going to be his wife, and I'm the only one that's going to have his _mark_." she said sternly before looking back ahead. Dark got into the car and buckled up as Mizore and Moka stared at the snow angel with wide eyes. The boy glanced to them in the rearview mirror then looked back to them.

"What's wrong Mizore?" he asked. The snow maiden blinked then smiled nervously.

"Nothing, just…eager to get back." she said softly. Dark smiled a bit and nodded then looked ahead as Arial glanced back to Mizore with narrowed eyes. Moka and Mizore exchanged glances then looked back to Arial with worry, the two fearful when the temperamental snow angel would try to 'get rid' of Mizore's mark.

Ceal walked over to an SUV and used his magic to unlock it, the boy then opening the door and glancing to Complica.

"You're riding with me, get in." he said simply. Complica nodded then quickly ran around the truck and got into the front passenger seat. Ceal then looked back to Sun with narrowed eyes.

"You too, get in." he said. The siren looked at him worriedly as Gin and Kokoa glanced to him. Sun looked to Gin then quickly held onto his arm, the boy looking at her with a bit of surprise as Kokoa growled loudly.

"Let him go now or I'll tear your arm right off!" the vampire yelled out as Kou popped out of her pocket and landed back on her shoulder, the bat glaring at the siren as well. Sun looked at her worriedly then down as black tentacles were forming around her feet.

"You and I need to have a long talk still, and we will once we're out of here. Now, get in or else I'll make you." Ceal said sternly.

"Easy man, she's not our enemy here." Gin said defensively.

"She's not exactly on my good list right now." Kokoa said with a growl. Ceal glanced to them then motioned towards the SUV where Complica was watching with worry.

"Then either she gets in on her own, or I'll throw what's left of her in there." he said coldly. Sun glanced to Gin as he looked at her worriedly.

"C'mon, we'll ride with you." he said. Sun nodded eagerly as Kokoa looked at him with a cautious eye. She then looked to Sun and pointed to the SUV.

"Get in, now!" she yelled out. Sun started walking towards the SUV as Kokoa looked back to Gin with discontent.

"You and I are going to have a long talk as well." she said sternly. The boy smiled nervously and nodded, then watched as his girlfriend walked after the siren. He then walked after and got in the backseat, with Sun by the door and Kokoa between them. The vampire had her arms crossed as she was glaring at Sun, the siren looking at her worriedly then to Gin. Ceal got into the truck and closed the door, then glanced to Sun in the rearview mirror.

"Either you give me a good answer later as to why a dragon came here after you, or else I'll let that vampire use you as her own punching bag." he said coldly. Sun glanced to Kokoa as the vampire cracked her knuckles then looked to Gin with worry, the boy showing a concerned expression.

Razico took off in his SUV with Dark and Leon following after. Fang Fang followed behind them as Ceal drove right after, the five groups then driving out of the parking structure and into the city streets. As they drove, at the speed limit to avoid any problems of course, they saw more HDA trucks and humvees driving around as well as helicopters flying in the sky. The night sky had a few stars that could be seen however the lights of the human city cast the sky into a soft glow while the five groups made their way through the area. As they drove everybody was looking out the windows at the human city, at the people walking in the streets and driving by, at the world that now saw them as enemies of mankind once more. They had managed to escape captivity and execution, however only barely and with a casualty in the process.

"This is a nightmare. The human monster war is going to start up all over again." Ruby said looking down with worry.

"We'll get this sorted out, there must be some way of making the humans see that we're not all bad monsters." Razico said glancing out at the sky above.

"That was too close." Render said breathing out in relief. Apoch nodded and looked at him with a gentle expression.

"Thank you, both of you, for helping us." she said softly.

"Yes, we couldn't have done it without you." Astreal said looking to Leon as the sisters removed their hoods. The boy nodded and looked ahead with a distant gaze.

"Don't thank us yet, something tells me the hard part is coming up still." he said reluctantly, the other three nodding in agreement before looking out the windows at the passing human city.

"Poor Sandra." Complica said softly as she looked down at the floor. Ceal glanced to her then back to Sun in the rearview mirror.

"I will say this, your human friend did not die in vain. She helped your friends escape this place. That's twice today I've seen a human prove themselves as a step up from the rest of their race." he said before looking ahead.

"Twice today?" Complica said curiously.

"Yes, another human girl killed a monster with a baseball bat." Ceal said simply. He then glanced to Complica with a slight smirk.

"Something you two have in common I suppose." he said with a small shrug. Complica smiled softly a bit then looked down to her bat in her hands. Sun looked at Ceal curiously then to Gin, the boy nodding with a slight smile.

"Yeah, we'll tell you later, after you meet her." he said with a shrug. Sun looked at the boy curiously then down in thought, the girl trying to picture a human being taking on a monster with nothing but a baseball bat and winning.

"I wonder what father is doing about all this, I'm sure he and the other dark lords must know about it." Moka said softly while looking up at the sky, the girl taking off her hood while showing a worried expression.

"I'm not sure, but we're going to find out." Dark said while still looking ahead. Arial looked at the demon with loving eyes and smiled softly, the girl keeping the boy in her sight as she gently rolled her lollipop around in her mouth. Mizore looked at the snow angel worriedly then to Dark.

_This is crazy, how can this be the girl that freed my Dark? Every time he spoke about her he always treated her with the utmost respect, she was his guardian angel. He always talked about her like she was perfect and a real angel. But she's out of her mind, and she's more obsessed with him than I was with Tsukune._

"Gabriel, when we get back I want to know just what the hell is going on here." Rason said sternly looking to his friend, the redheaded angel sitting in the front seat and nodding with a worried expression. Kurumu looked at Gabriel and shook her head.

"You'd better have a good excuse for letting Arial and Complica come down here like this. Otherwise I'm not sure who's going to kill you faster, Luna and Falla or Dark." she said with discontent. Gabriel cringed a bit as he thought about Luna being captured, the angel knowing that piece of news was likely going to cause quite the uproar with the group.

"I'll…tell you all everything Rason. I promise." he said looking ahead, the angel worried about his own personal safety, but not as much as he was about Luna's. Fang Fang glanced to him then looked back ahead with worry as he continued to drive.

The five vehicles drove out of the busy center of the city towards a tunnel in a small mountainside near the sea, the group seeing the sparkling water stretching out with the night sky in the horizon to their left.

"I wonder if we'll ever be able to come back to this world again." Moka said worriedly as she looked out at the blue sea.

_Tsukune…I'm sorry. We tried to stop this from falling apart…but…_

**_We need to fix this, we can't let our mate come out of Paradise into this war._**

The five vehicles drove into the tunnel that was a gateway into the monster world, the group watching as the view of the seaside and night sky vanished behind the darkened tunnel walls.

"At least we can go back and rest a bit. Today's been a real nightmare." Yukari said looking down with worry. Ahakon nodded then glanced to Ran, the girl looking down with closed eyes.

"Are you alright Ran?" he asked. The girl glanced to him and smiled slightly.

"Yeah…just…how do you keep so calm during all this?" she asked. Yukari and Ahakon looked at her as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

"I was scared all day today with you guys, but you…you managed to keep your head and keep pushing forward. All of you even, how do you do it?" she asked. Yukari smiled a bit and looked down.

"I suppose we've gotten used to it. We've been through so much together, I guess we've changed a lot during all of it." she said softly. Ruby looked down and nodded, the witch knowing she was far more battle experienced than before after everything the group had been through. They had all fought in wars and fights to the death, and have all even killed when needed to in order to survive and protect the innocent. Ahakon smiled a bit and patted the siren's hand gently.

"You did great out there Ran, really. And we were all scared too, it's not like this was a piece of cake for us either." he said gently. The siren smiled at him then glanced away with timid eyes.

"Thank you Ahakon." she said softly as she felt her heart beating a bit faster at his words. Yukari smiled amusingly at the siren's reaction to her hero complimenting her then leaned back in her seat.

"I'm just glad we're at least going back home." she said softly.

"Um…about that." Razico said looking around. The group looked to him then around, all of them noticing something that everybody else was as well.

"Wait…you guys?" Kurumu said worriedly.

"This…isn't right." Leon said shaking his head.

"What's going on?" Gin said looking around.

The five vehicles exited the tunnel and screeched to a stop in the middle of the road, the group looking around with worry now as they all noticed the same thing. There were no flashing streaks of light in the tunnel, no strange sights, and they still saw the blue sea and night sky off to the side after exiting the tunnel.

"We're…still here?" Moka said with surprise.

"But how?" Mizore said looking around. Dark and Arial looked around as well, both of them seeing that the group was still in the human world.

"Wait, did we go through the wrong tunnel?" Gin said looking back to the darkened tunnel behind them.

"I could have sworn that was the right one." Kokoa said looking around curiously. Ceal looked around slowly then shook his head a bit.

"The dark lords…" he said softly. The group looked to him as he slowly glanced to Complica.

"They sealed off the gateways."


	10. Isolated

"We're coming to you live-…as you can see the HDA center here-…all around HDA officials are working to contain-…" a female reporter on the news station said, the video and audio cutting out as static fluxed across the screen.

"Dammit what's wrong with this thing? Hey!" Falla cried out as she scrambled towards the T.V. and shook it a bit, the girl looking at the news report with worried eyes while Rin and Kyouko were behind her sitting on the bed. The trio of girls were inside Rin's dorm room at the academy, the three girls watching the news report with worried expressions.

"That thing looks like it's an antique." Kyouko said shaking her head.

"Falla? I don't think hitting it is going to help." Rin said shaking her head. Falla shook the T.V. more then looked back to the two girls with frustration.

"If this thing doesn't tell me what happened to Ceal and the others I'm going to tear it apart before you can say another word." she said before looking back to the T.V. set, the girl shaking it wildly as her friends watched her worriedly. The video distorted and cut out slightly before showing the feed again.

"We're getting reports that a few of the monsters inside the center have escaped and have fled into the city. HDA officials were quick to deny these reports and state that all monsters are being contained and eliminated as we speak." the reporter said as she stood before a heavily damaged HDA command center. Fires and small explosions were seen around the structure as gunfire and screams were heard in the background.

"Oh god, that place looks like a warzone." Kyouko said biting her thumbnail. Falla looked at the report with worried eyes and slowly sat back.

"Ceal…" she said softly.

"He said he was going to save my sister, what happened?" Rin said worriedly.

"Reports of monsters running loose in the city have been coming in, with one incident regarding a car chase taking place inside a local galleria. However HDA officials were quick to report to the scene and found no traces of these dark creatures in the area. Local officials are working with the HDA to quarantine the city and begin a large-scale sweep to make sure that nothing of the monster world is loose." the reporter continued, the video having static and blurring occasionally.

"Please tell me they got out of there." Kyouko said worriedly as the video showed a torn up mall from the inside, with damaged HDA trucks and soldiers running around while people were being evacuated quickly. The feed changed to the reporter outside the damaged HDA command center as bright flashes and gunfire were seen around the structure.

"The HDA-…and will continue to-…exterminate these-…no word yet as to-"

The feed cut out and static was seen as the girls watched with surprise. Falla scrambled back to the set and quickly tried changing the channels, the girl seeing static across every one with the video distorted.

"What the hell…what's with this thing?" Falla yelled out as all the channels showed static. She yelled out as she shoved the T.V. back against the wall and held her hands to her face, the girl struggling not to scream or cry. The T.V. video feed wavered then cut out completely as Kyouko watched with worry. She ran over and tried changing the channels, the girl seeing nothing but static on all the channels.

"What happened though? Where's my sister?" Rin said worriedly.

"That's weird, all the channels are out." Kyouko said turning the channel again and again. Falla looked to the set with worry then over to the window, the girl standing up as yelling was heard outside. The three girls walked over and saw dozens of other students outside in the courtyard while talking to each other franticly.

"What's going on?" Falla said. Kyouko looked back to the T.V. then to the students outside.

"Something's going on here." she said cautiously. The girls ran out of the room and down the stairs, then ran outside to seeing other students talking franticly while a few teachers were trying to calm them down. The three girls pushed their way through the crowd and saw Ms. Nekonome and Ms. Ririko trying to calm the students down.

"Ms. Nekonome? What's going on?" Falla asked. The cat demon looked at her worriedly and shook her head.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Ms. Cii, but…there's a bit of an emergency going on." she said with remorse.

"All of you need to return to your rooms and stay there for the night. Classes are canceled tomorrow and you will all be allowed to call your parents to leave the academy grounds." Ms. Ririko called out. Rin, Falla, and Kyouko glanced to each other worriedly.

"Secret's out." Kyouko said shaking her head.

"They must have heard about the declaration of war." Falla said with remorse.

"I can't go home now, my parents are in the human world!" a girl in back cried out.

"Mine too, where are we supposed to go? We're stuck here now!" a boy yelled out.

"It's too late for us to go back now, what are we supposed to do?" another girl cried out. Rin, Falla, and Kyouko looked to each other puzzled then to the teachers as they were motioning the crowd to calm down.

"If your family was located outside the monster world then you'll be allowed to stay here until further notice." Ms. Ririko called out. She blinked then saw Kyouko standing in the front of the crowd.

"Wait, you…you're that human from before." she said with surprise. The crowd looked to Kyouko as she jumped a bit.

"Um…yeah." she said cautiously as she glanced around.

"What? She's a human?" a boy said with surprise.

"What's she doing here? Is she one of their undercover agents?" a girl said eyeing the human carefully. Falla glanced around quickly as she kept on guard, the girl not liking the looks her human friend was getting from the crowd.

"She's here as a guest from the headmaster." the chronofly said looking to the teacher as Rin held an arm out to back Kyouko away from the crowd. Ms. Ririko looked at the human girl carefully then nodded slowly.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter, not like we could send her back now anyway." she said simply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kyouko asked.

"Oh dear, um…" Ms. Nekonome said looking at the human girl.

"Didn't you hear? The monster world has been sealed off from the human world." Ms. Ririko said shaking her head.

"What?" Rin, Falla, and Kyouko cried out.

"Yes, I'm afraid the dark lords have sealed off the gateways to the human world after your kind declared war on us." Ms. Nekonome said worriedly.

"Wait, sealed off? You mean…we're trapped here?" Kyouko said with wide eyes.

"But…Ceal's still out there, him and all the others. They can't seal the gateways now, they need to come back here still!" Falla cried out.

"My sister's still out there, you can't seal the gateways now." Rin said shaking her head worriedly.

"I'm sorry girls, but it's already done. The dark lords have completely locked down the monster world until they can figure out what to do about the human race declaring war on us. All passageways into the human world are now closed off." Ms. Ririko said with a solemn tone.

"No! No you can't let them do that! My boyfriend's still out there, he was going to bring the others back here! He's still out in the human world!" Falla cried out shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do." Ms. Nekonome said looking down with remorse. Kyouko looked at the teacher with wide eyes then down.

_That's why all the channels cut out, we're sealed off from the human world. We can't go back…_

"How are they going to get back now? You can't do this!" Falla cried out with frustration. Kyouko looked at her with worry then to the crowd behind her, the girl seeing all the worried and frustrated students. A few of them glared at the human while others merely looked away to avoid eye contact.

"I'm sorry Ms. Cii, but the decision was made by the dark lords." Ms. Nekonome said with regret. Falla cried out and looked down while grabbing her hair in frustration.

"No…no! Ceal!" she cried out shaking her head. Kyouko looked at her friend with remorse then down.

"But my sister is still out there, the others were going to bring her back. How can they bring her back if the gateways are closed?" Rin said as she tried to keep from crying.

"Can't the headmaster open the gateway for a quick second, just to let them back in?" Falla begged loudly. The teachers shook their heads with sympathetic expressions.

"I'm sorry, but until the dark lords figure out how to deal with this turn of events I'm afraid the monster world will remain sealed off for our own protection." Ms. Ririko said with a solemn tone. Falla looked down with closed eyes, the girl worried about her boyfriend. She wasn't sure if he was still alive, and even if he was he couldn't return to her now.

"No…I can't be separated from him like this, I just got him. I just got him!" she cried out. Kyouko walked over to her and held her gently, the girl looking at her friend with worried eyes.

"I'm sure he's fine Falla. You know your boyfriend, he's a tough guy. He and the others just had to have gotten out of city." she said gently.

"But what good is that if they're trapped in the human world?" Falla said looking at her friend with watery eyes.

"Let's just stay positive here and keep believing in them, that they're still alive. That's all we can do now. As long as they're still alive there's hope they'll return." Kyouko said looking to Rin. The siren nodded slowly and looked down with worried eyes, the girl fearful if her sister eluded execution or not. Falla held back her tears and nodded slowly as she wiped her tears away.

"You're right, Ceal isn't some weakling, he doesn't go down easily. Neither are the others, they…they just have to be alive still. I can't lose faith in them." she said hopefully.

"He's going to come back Falla, he still has to tell you that he loves you right?" Kyouko said with a small smile. Falla smiled a bit and nodded, the girl hoping to hear those words from the catalyst mage upon his return.

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you Kyouko, I'm…glad you're here." Falla said looking to her friend with a bit of relief.

"Why is that human staying here? She doesn't belong here with us." a girl in the crowd said with anger.

"How could your kind declare war on us like that, we never attacked you!" another girl shouted out. Kyouko looked at them with worry then down.

"She's probably a spy from the humans, she shouldn't be here at all." a boy said with narrowed eyes. Kyouko clenched her fists and looked at the student with frustration.

"Hey! I'm no spy, and I never wanted to declare war on you. I wanted your kind to be in our world, dammit I was friends with the three monsters that went to my school." she declared sternly. She shook her head and looked down with anger.

"I never wanted any of this. I know monsters can be trusted, I owe my life to one even. The only ones that shouldn't exist are the HDA, they're the real monsters!" she yelled out. The crowd looked at her cautiously as the human trembled a bit.

"Why did you come here? This isn't your world." a girl said shaking her head. Kyouko looked to her with worry.

"Because my own people tried to kill me, I was chased out of my world into this one for trying to help monsters like you." she said softly. The crowd looked at her with a bit of wonder as Kyouko looked down with concern.

"My own kind…tried to shoot me down all because I sided with the innocent monsters in the world. Even if the gateway wasn't sealed…I can't go home now, not after how they treated you all. I…I don't know if I belong there anymore." she said closing her eyes.

"She's an outcast?" another girl in the crowd asked curiously.

"She's here as a guest from the headmaster, not because she's in danger in our world, but because she's in danger in hers." Falla said looking at the human with concern. Kyouko nodded slowly as the crowd looked at her curiously. The human then looked around at the crowd with worry.

"I never wanted this to happen, I wanted peace like you all did. It's all that HDA's fault, they're the ones that shot first and didn't even bother to ask questions. They're the ones that turned the world against all of you. They're the ones that are responsible for the gateways being sealed now." she said with remorse. Kyouko looked at her two friends with worry as the girls were trying to remain hopeful that their loved ones were still alright, both of them hoping that at least the group managed to escape HDA custody and get out of the human city.

"Well, either way you're stuck here now. You're welcome to stay in the dorm building since the headmaster has granted you a stay here." Ms. Ririko said while adjusting her glasses, the woman then looking towards the dorm building nearby. Kyouko nodded then looked to the other students.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what my people did. Please, we really did want peace, but…some humans…well, they can be real monsters themselves." she said with remorse. The crowd looked at her cautiously as the human girl looked down with closed eyes. From the crowd Saizo walked up to the girls and looked at the human carefully.

"Just who are you anyway, what's your name girl?" he asked. She looked at him with worry then glanced away.

"Kyouko Aono." she said softly.

"Aono?" Saizo said with surprise. The entire crowd and teachers looked to her with wide eyes as the human looked around curiously.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Did…did she just say Aono?" a boy in the crowd asked softly.

"Now way, it couldn't be." a girl said looking at Kyouko with wonder.

"Are you…are you related to Tsukune Aono?" Saizo asked with wide eyes. The human looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, he's my cousin." she said.

"He is?" Saizo said with a jump.

"Did you hear that? She's related to Tsukune Aono." a boy in the crowd said with surprise.

"Oh my god, she's…his cousin." a girl in the crowd said with wonder. Kyouko looked around as suddenly everybody was looking at her with awe and talking about her.

"What's going on? You all know my cousin?" she asked.

"Know him? He's a freakin' hero! He took down Alucard!" a boy in back cheered out. Falla blinked then glanced away with a dull expression.

"Well, technically he couldn't have done it without my help." she said quietly.

"You're related to the famous hero Tsukune Aono?" a girl said looking at Kyouko with amazement.

"Oh my, is that true?" Ms. Nekonome said with surprise. Kyouko looked around and nodded as all eyes were locked onto her.

"Yeah, I am." she said. Ms. Ririko stared at the human with wide eyes then jumped a bit.

"Um…oh dear. Say…about before…I'm…really sorry about that. I…wasn't quite myself what with that damned mirror's influence." she said with a nervous smile. Kyouko looked at her curiously then around as everybody was smiling a bit at her. Saizo looked at the girl with wonder then smiled.

"Well if you're his cousin, then you're more than welcome here." he said with a nod. The girl was suddenly rushed by the crowd, all of which surrounded her and looked at the girl with amazement.

"Wow, you're really his cousin? Does that mean he has human relatives, or was he adopted by humans?" a boy said looking at the human girl with wonder.

"You can sleep with me in my room tonight, I can bake us cookies." a girl said with an eager smile.

"No, you can sleep with me, and you can tell me all about your sexy cousin." another girl said with a blush.

"No way, you can sleep with me babe, I'll make sure to keep you safe here." a boy said flexing his muscles a bit. Kyouko looked around at the crowd with a stunned expression as everybody was suddenly begging the girl to sleep in their rooms tonight. Before she could say a word Saizo pushed them all back with a fierce grunt.

"Back off already, you're crowding her. Give her some room." he said looking around at the crowd. He straightened out his shirt and smirked at the human.

"Name's Saizo Komiya, don't worry, you're safe here with me." he said with a twinkle coming from his smile. Kyouko looked at him with wonder as Falla gave the boy a dull expression.

"Yes Kyouko, meet Saizo, the boy that nearly killed Tsukune on his first day here at Yokai Academy." she said flatly. Saizo twitched at that then smiled nervously as Kyouko looked at the boy with narrowed eyes.

"He nearly did what?" the human asked sternly.

"That…was just a misunderstanding. Really, it's all water under the bridge for us. We've actually become best friends here." he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Really? I don't recall him ever mentioning you, or seeing you with him while he was helping to save the world." Kyouko said crossing her arms. Saizo laughed weakly as Falla cleared her throat, the boy looking over to her as she narrowed her red eyes at him.

"I appreciate you keeping the crowd from suffocating her, but if you try to touch my friend you're going to be in a world of hurt before you can blink." she said firmly. Rin looked at Saizo worriedly as the boy smiled nervously at the chronofly.

"Hey c'mon now, I'm not doing anything bad here. I'm just trying to be the gentleman here for the young lady." he said with a simple shrug.

"Right, because orcs are the picture of chivalry and honesty." a boy's voice came from near the crowd. Everybody looked over to seeing a figure walking up to them. He was slightly taller than Tsukune in height, the boy dressed with white tennis shoes, black jeans, and a dark green t-shirt with a black denim vest that was left unzipped in the front. He had short black hair and dark green eyes, the boy raising an eyebrow at Saizo while he walked closer to him.

"Honestly, you orcs and your unjustified arrogance, nothing but a joke." he said simply. The boy glanced to Kyouko with a blank expression and shrugged a bit.

"Besides, something tells me she doesn't need protection, she seems pretty calm about all this as far as humans go. Stranded in the monster world surrounded by monsters, and she's not screaming at all." he said with a shrug.

"Who are you? Do you go to this school?" Kyouko asked as she saw the boy wasn't wearing the normal school uniform. The boy shook his head and looked towards the academy nearby.

"Not really, I was just passing through and saw the commotion." he said without a care.

"I'm sorry but we don't allow visitors at this hour, not to mention that the school has been closed down until further notice." Ms. Ririko said adjusting her glasses while looking at the new boy. He glanced to her as Kyouko looked at the boy curiously.

"As I mentioned, I was merely passing through. I have no intention on staying here the night." he said simply.

"Just who do you think you are insulting me like that? You've got some nerve calling my race a joke." Saizo said with anger. The other boy looked to him with a dull expression.

"That's what you are orc, don't get mad at me because you can't deal with the truth." he said flatly. Saizo growled loudly at the new boy and clenched his fists.

"You little bastard, I'm going to make you eat those words!" he yelled as she swung at the boy with anger. The boy grabbed Saizo's arm and flung him over his head without much effort, the crowd watching as the newcomer slammed Saizo into the ground behind him. The teachers watched with a bit of surprise as the new boy merely glanced back to the student that had his upper body dug into the ground while his legs were twitching a bit in the air.

"Wow, he's strong." Kyouko said with an impressed nod. Rin looked at the boy struck into the ground with a curious glance then back to the new boy.

"Who are you anyway?" she asked. The newcomer glanced to the girl then back as Saizo stumbled back up, the boy shifting to his orc form and growling loudly at the newcomer.

"You little punk, you're going to pay for that!" he yelled as he swung his large fist at the boy. The crowd watched as the newcomer grabbed the fist and held it with one hand, the boy looking at the orc with a bit of discontent. The large monster swung his other fist at him, the boy again catching it with his other hand.

"Wow, he's…really strong." Kyouko said with wonder.

"An orc isn't that strong Kyouko, at least not as far as most monsters go." Falla said with a shrug. She knew physically she couldn't stand up to an orc either, but with her magic she was far above him regardless. Rin tapped her headphones and looked at the newcomer curiously.

"Did he tell us who he was yet? I blanked out again. Um…when did they start fighting?" she asked curiously. Kyouko looked at the new boy curiously then smiled a bit.

"So, what kind of monster are you?" she asked. The new boy shoved Saizo back and just looked at the orc with a bit of annoyance.

"I don't think my type has a name in your world." he said glancing to the human. She looked at him curiously as he shrugged a bit and looked back to the orc that was glaring at him with anger.

"But, I suppose 'hybrid' is a fitting name." he said as large demonic wings spread out behind him. As they did Falla's eyes widened, the girl looking at the wings with surprise. It wasn't the fact that he had wings that shocked her, many monsters did after all. It was what the wings looked like that made her heart skip a beat. They were slightly larger in size than Kurumu's wings, had no feathers, phased through his clothing unlike Rason's wings did.

And were grayish with a metallic shimmer to them, the wings seeming to be made of metal and flesh melded together.

"That…that's…" Falla said shaking her head, the girl recognizing that type of look from before. Kyouko and Rin looked to her curiously then back to the boy as he arched his wings behind him. Saizo charged towards the boy with a punch geared back, the winged boy then darting up into the air in a flash. Saizo swung his fist and looked around, the orc seeing the winged boy flying around him out of the corner of his eye before being kicked in the back of the head. He was blasted down into the ground as the winged boy landed next to him, his wings retracting slightly as he looked at the dazed monster with a dull expression.

"Seems the only one around here eating anything is you with the dirt." he said simply. Kyouko looked at the boy with wonder, his wings shimmering slightly from the moonlight as he stood with a casual stance over the orc that was once again headfirst in the ground.

_Wow…he's pretty hot for a monster…_

Falla looked at the boy's wings with wide eyes, then slowly pointed to them.

"Those wings…they're…" she said softly.

"So cool." Kyouko said with a soft smile. The winged boy glanced to the girls as Falla shook her head.

"No, not cool. They're the same as Alucard's!" she cried out. The crowd looked to her with surprise then to the boy while Rin and Kyouko stared at him with wide eyes.

"What? Like Alucard's?" a boy in the crowd said with a jump.

"Wait, they are?" Ms. Ririko said looking at the new boy carefully. He didn't show any reaction as he continued to look at Falla with a dull expression. The chronofly looked at the wings with surprise then at the boy.

"What…what the hell are you?" she asked with worry. Kyouko looked at the boy's wings, the girl remembering the news broadcast about the large destroyer that was rampaging through the human world. How its skin had a strange metallic shimmer to it, just the same as the newcomer's wings.

"Just another monster trapped in this world like you." the boy said casually. He then looked down as Saizo growled with frustration, the orc slowly getting up as he spat out dirt.

"You…I'm going to crush you into the ground and-" he started before the winged boy held out his right arm towards him, and in doing so a wraith blade extended out from the top of his lower arm. The metallic looking blade was held to Saizo's head, the orc staring at it with wide eyes.

"As foolish as you orcs are, I would seriously recommend rethinking your little strategy. Perhaps more towards something of a cowardly retreat." the winged boy said while looking down at the orc with a focused expression. Saizo looked at the blade then to the newcomer with wide eyes as the crowd stared with wonder. The orc blinked then slowly shifted back into his human form and raised his hands up defensively.

"Easy now, I was just-"

"You were just leaving. One way or another." the winged boy said simply before retracting his blade and wings. Saizo looked at him carefully then slowly stood up. He glanced to the girls then started walking away as the newcomer merely watched him leave out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you…one of Alucard's offspring?" a girl in the crowd asked nervously.

"His wings are just like Alucard's, what else would he be?" a boy said cautiously.

"I thought Alucard and all his offspring were killed that day, they were all wiped out by our heroes." a boy said worriedly. The newcomer showed no reaction to the murmurs and whispering forming in the crowd regarding him while Falla stared at the boy with a stunned expression.

_His wings, they look just like the kind from Alucard, no other monster I know has that look to them. How can that be, what is he?_

"Who are you?" Rin asked curiously. The boy didn't say a word, then turned around and started walking away. He stopped and glanced back to Kyouko.

"You're fortunate to be on this side of the gateway, after all, humans are the real monsters of the world. You're far safer here than you were out there." he said simply.

"They're not…all bad." Kyouko said softly with a worried expression. The boy just looked at her for a moment then back ahead.

"I suppose not, seeing as how the headmaster of this academy is allowing one to stay here." he said before walking away. Kyouko watched him walk away with a curious expression while Falla just stared at the boy with disbelief.

"Who was that? …_what_ was that?" she said with a cautious expression. Rin tapped her headphones and looked around.

"Hey, where did he go?" she asked curiously, the girl's mind lapsing slightly from her damaged headphones. Kyouko and Falla glanced to each other then ran off after the boy, with the confused siren looking around quickly before following after her friends. The crowd and teachers watched them go with wonder as they ran down the worn path towards the academy.

"I wonder what that was about, and who do you supposed that boy was?" Ms. Nekonome asked curiously.

"I have no idea, I just hope that human girl doesn't inform her cousin about my…less than professional behavior with her last time we met." Ms. Ririko said worriedly.

Down the worn path the three girls ran quickly in search of the mysterious boy, all of them looking around quickly through the darkened woods.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" Kyouko asked quickly.

"How should I know? I may have both eyes back but that doesn't mean I can see any better in the dark." Falla said looking around. Only the red moon above gave any remote light to the surrounding area, the three girls looking around carefully for any sign of the mysterious boy.

"Why are we looking for him?" Rin asked curiously as the three girls stopped and looked around the rotting forest.

"His wings were just like Alucard's, I want to know what he is and what he's doing here." Falla said with a firm expression.

"His wings did look similar, but do you really think he has any connection to that thing?" Kyouko said as she looked to Falla. The chronofly glanced to her and shook her head.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. If he's related to Alucard in anyway, nothing good could come from it." Falla said looking around the darkened woods with a careful eye.

"What if he is related to Alucard? What if he's that thing's son? What if he becomes another invincible destroyer and kills us all?" Rin said fearfully.

"If he's a threat I'll handle him myself, even if he does have Alucard's blood in him I can take him down." Falla said with determination.

"Akua and Kahlua have Alucard's blood in them, and they're not evil." Kyouko said curiously.

"If he has Alucard's blood I want to know how and why, that's not something that he would just find in the monster world." Falla said glancing around carefully.

"He wasn't really a bad guy though, he was only trying to defend me." Kyouko pointed out.

"I still want some answers, those wings and his blade, they all looked exactly like those of Alucard. It's just too…too…" Falla said shaking her head.

"Suspicious." Kyouko said looking around the darkened forest.

"What do we do now? We'll never find him in the dark like this, and he could be long gone by now." Rin said worriedly. Falla and Kyouko glanced to each other then looked around again at the darkened woods.

"Well for now we don't have a choice. All we can do is wait here, and see what happens next." Falla said looking up towards the sky. The girls all looked up to seeing a few clouds rolling by in the sky near the blood red moon. They were stuck in the monster world now while their friends were all trapped in the human world. They didn't know if the group had escaped HDA forces, or even the human city, and had no way of contacting them as all lines of communication between the two worlds were cut. And on top of that a strange boy with wings similar to Alucard had appeared, the mysterious monster raising concern with the isolated girls.

"Please tell me they're ok, just let them at least be ok." Falla said softly.

"With all of them together, I don't think there's anything in the world that could stop them." Kyouko said hopefully.

"Except for being trapped in the human world." Rin said worriedly.

"They'll find a way back, they just have to." Falla said softly. She closed her eyes and held a hand over her heart.

_Ceal…please come back to me._

"I wonder if they know, I wonder if they know the gateways are closed." Kyouko said softly. Falla opened her eyes and looked up at the sky, the girl wondering how the group would handle the news of being trapped in the human world.

* * *

"We're trapped here!" Kurumu cried out, the girl sobbing as she was held by Rason.

The group had managed to elude HDA forces and make their getaway out of the city, the large group of monsters having rescued those that were captured by the human military as prisoners of war.

"This isn't happening…tell me this isn't happening…" Ran said shakily.

They even came across two wandering souls from the heavenly realm, the snow angel Arial and chronofly angel Complica, both girls having joined the group as they couldn't reenter heaven from the human world.

"The dark lords sealed off the gateways, we're…stuck here." Ruby said with worry.

However their escape did come at a cost. Mizore was nearly killed on the spot from Arial's wrath, the snow angel furious that anybody other than her was near her precious shadow demon. Although the snow angel had mercilessly attacked the snow girl in a fit of rage, Mizore's life was saved by the catalyst mage Ceal. However Arial's act of violence wasn't known to Dark, the shadow demon the only one of the group that wasn't aware of Arial's true feelings towards him.

"This is a nightmare…and it just won't stop." Leon said looking up at the night sky.

Another instance came from the human girl Sandra, who was shot dead during the escape from HDA soldiers. Sun and the two wandering angels showed remorse and sorrow for losing their friend, however pushed on so her sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Although they didn't know her, the rest of the group did hope that the brave human would have a peaceful afterlife for her noble efforts to help them.

"What do we do now?" Apoch and Astreal asked worriedly.

Through the gunfire and close calls the large group of monsters had managed to escape the HDA controlled city and flee towards the monster world for safe refuge. However their escape came to a quick stop as the gateway into the monster world was no longer in place, the group seeing that they were still in the human world after traveling through the tunnel that was once a way into their own realm.

"We panic, that's what we do." Gin said holding his girl from behind, the vampire holding his arm and looking down with worry.

Near the road that led into a tunnel in the mountainside the group had parked their 'borrowed' escape vehicles near the side of the road and were gathered in an overlook next to the blue sea, the area having a few benches over by the railing above the cliffside.

"Why did the dark lords do that? Don't they know there are still monsters here in the human world?" Ahakon asked worriedly.

"They know that, but they also know that mankind outnumbers and overpowers the monster world by far. They sealed the gateways to prevent the fall of the monster realm." Razico said looking out at the blue sea with a deep gaze.

"What do we do now, we're trapped here." Yukari said shaking her head. Rason growled a bit then looked to Gabriel.

"Alright Gabriel. I want answers, now." he said walking towards his comrade. The redheaded angel looked at him worriedly as Dark walked up towards him with Arial holding onto the demon's hand tightly.

"You said you had more to tell us, what more has been going wrong today besides you letting these two out of heaven where they could be wiped from existence forever?" Dark said with a tone of anger. Gabriel looked at them nervously then glanced to Ruby, the witch nodding then looking towards her friends.

"I'm afraid…today has been a bad day." she said with remorse.

"A bad day?" Kurumu said in disbelief. She shook her head and marched up to the witch.

"We've been arrested, shot at, chased, and hunted down like criminals. We've been through HELL Ruby! Today isn't a 'bad day', today's a fucking nightmare!" she yelled out.

"A human girl died today trying to save us, I want to know why she had to die." Moka said looking towards Sun with concern, the siren looking down with remorse.

"What happened to Falla's school? And the city? Why did the humans arrest all of us?" Mizore asked worriedly. Rason grabbed Gabriel by the collar and lifted him up.

"Talk Gabriel! I'm in no mood for any more waiting, I want to know what the hell is going on right now!" he yelled out.

"Ok! I'll explain everything, really! Just…put me down!" Gabriel pleaded. Rason dropped the boy onto his feet and crossed his arms. Gabriel looked at him worriedly then down with remorse.

"Alright, it's just…I'm not sure where to begin." he said looking towards Render and Leon, then over to Ruby.

"How did this all start?" Yukari asked. Gabriel nodded then gestured towards Render and Leon, all eyes switching to them as Apoch and Astreal stood by their boyfriends.

"Ok, so here's the deal. Shit went down, and it kinda…got out of control." Render said with a shrug. The group just looked at him as Leon shook his head while looking up.

"They're going to need more than that Render." he said tiredly. Apoch and Astreal stepped forward and looked towards Moka's group with worry. They explained that Jovian, Jacqueline, and Falla's darker self showed up at their school. How the evil witches used them to try to steal from the two hunters while Falla's other self tortured the good version of herself. As they explained why the school was destroyed and how, Moka's group stared at them with shock along with Sun, Fang Fang, Arial, and Complica.

"Jovian and Jacqueline? They came back again?" Yukari cried out.

"Those two…came back? With the other Falla?" Moka said in disbelief.

"How…how did they…" Rason said looking to Gabriel.

"I don't understand, what was it they wanted to steal from you two?" Ahakon said looking at Render and Leon. The two hunters explained what they were after along with Razico and Ceal, the legendary relic Pandora's Box. How unlocking it would unleash the monsters long since sealed away by the Almighty, and if the monsters could be beaten back then a single wish could be granted. They explained that the three dark souls from hell wanted the box to wish for their lives back, since they were disembodied souls like Arial and Complica. The group listened with stunned expressions as the hunters told them that they killed the three evil girls, with Render and Leon dispatching the S-Class sisters for good while Falla dueled with herself and won…after their battle demolished the surrounding area. Complica stared at the two hunters with amazement then looked down, the girl stunned to hear how her sister had literally 'fought her inner demon' and won.

"So…any questions so far?" Render asked. Rason slowly raised his hand up and Render nodded at him.

"What…the…fuck?" he said looking at the other group with wide eyes.

"That's how that city got destroyed? Falla and…Falla did that?" Moka said with disbelief.

"You're going to unlock something that has monsters sealed away by the Almighty? Are you out of your mind?" Yukari cried out.

"I think I'm going to be sick…I'm going to throw up…I just know it." Kurumu said weakly as she felt her knees wobble a bit. Render looked around at them and smiled nervously.

"Um…the box is actually safe. Ceal's family has opened it plenty of times in the past, so it's cool." he said looking to the catalyst mage. The group looked to him as he was just standing off to the side with a blank expression. Complica was still standing next to him, the chronofly angel holding his human hand tightly while her bat was still in the SUV.

"Just who the hell are you anyway? You're a dragon slayer, a necro monster's owner, and Falla's boyfriend? Where the hell did you even come from?" Kurumu said looking at the catalyst mage. Render and Leon explained how Apoch and Astreal were shot in the hearts in the human world by the HDA, and how Ceal kept them alive with his magic. How the group fled the human world back to Yokai Academy where Ceal used the remains of the deceased witch sisters to regenerate new hearts for the witches. They also explained why Ceal had his demonic hand, how his wish to kill Fafnir backfired and took his hand while making the dragon immortal to all others. They even told the group how the catalyst mage had not only restored Falla's mind and magic, but also how he managed to put her back together after her darker self had torn her apart, and even gave the girl her eye back from her darker self. Complica stared at the catalyst mage with awe, the girl stunned to hear what kind of boyfriend her sister had.

"You…gave Falla her eye back?" Moka said with disbelief. Ceal merely nodded as the group stared at the mage.

"I…don't believe it. I can't believe any of this, this is…crazy!" Kurumu cried out.

"Is this true?" Rason said looking to Ruby. The witch nodded and looked at Ceal curiously.

"Yes, I saw her myself back at the academy. She's as good as new again and has full control over her magic with no trace of her dementia. He really did heal her." she said in wonder. Moka looked at the mage with surprise then down.

"I…I don't know where to begin with all this…" she said as her eyes darted around a bit.

"Well…if you have any questions so far I'd recommend asking them now, there's still…more to tell." Render said worriedly. The group looked to him as he and Leon glanced to Ruby. The witch nodded as all eyes fell on her.

"I'm afraid as good as that bit of news is, our remaining report gets much worse. The humans didn't take Falla's little duel too well, and…the HDA used the incident to declare war on the monster world." she said with remorse.

"War?" Moka cried out.

"No…they didn't…" Rason said softly. Ruby nodded and looked down with remorse.

"With Jovian, Jacqueline, and the dark Falla attacking people in plain sight like that, and all caught on camera, the humans have revoked the peace treaty." she said shaking her head. Moka covered her mouth and shook her head as Kurumu and Mizore looked down with wide eyes.

"No…this isn't happening." Yukari said as she started to cry, the girl being held by Ahakon who was trying not to freak out.

"That's…that's why they arrested us?" Ran asked. Razico nodded and looked at Moka's group.

"You all showing up there was bad timing, they accused the 'heroes that defeated Alucard' of the whole mess." he said with regret.

"Wait, heroes of Alucard?" Fang Fang said looking at the group with wide eyes. Gin glanced to him and nodded.

"Yeah…that…was us." he said with a shrug. Again Sun looked at him with wonder as Kokoa glanced to her with annoyance. Fang Fang looked at them with wide eyes then up with wonder.

"Well…today is certainly one of those days." he said with a nervous laugh. Arial held onto Dark's arm tightly, the girl knowing that her demon was one of those heroes and loving the fact even more.

"I'm going to start with the most prominent question at the moment; how did those three even come back? They were dead, and as far as I would have guessed they should have been down in hell." Dark said looking to Gabriel. The angel nodded with a worried expression, the boy knowing what this was going to lead to. He then looked to Ran with worry.

"Your old master sent them." he said. The group looked to Ran as she went wide eyed at that.

"My…old master?" she asked nervously. Gabriel nodded with a worried expression.

"Yes, he pulled their souls out of hell and sent them into the human world. Whatever he is…he defied the laws of life somehow." he said with remorse. Ran looked at him a stunned expression then down with worry. Sun and Fang Fang looked at the siren curiously as she trembled a bit, the girl then jumping and looking to Gabriel.

"Wait…then…that means…" she said shakily. Gabriel nodded as the group looked back to him.

"He sent them there, after Falla." he said looking to Rason. The blonde haired angel looked down with frustration as that was something he feared would be true.

"Oh no, we were too late." Yukari said with fear.

"We were right, he found out about her. He tried to…wait, but Falla's other self tried to kill her. I thought she would have wanted to take her alive." Kurumu said looking at Gabriel with a confused expression.

"She originally was going to, but she and those other witches wanted freedom more, so they tried to go after Pandora's Box instead of taking Falla back alive." Leon said.

"We were too late, we couldn't save her in time." Moka said looking down.

"Save her in time?" Fang Fang asked. Moka nodded and looked at him.

"Our friend Falla is a powerful monster, but she's also one of the last of her kind. Ran's old master wants to find her to-" she said worriedly, then blinked and slowly glanced to Complica, the chronofly looking at her with worry.

"Wait, you mean those dark monsters want to take away my other sister too?" she said worriedly. Moka's group looked at her with surprise as the chronofly tried not to cry. The girl whimpered and shook her head as she held onto Ceal's hand tightly. The group looked to Gabriel as he was looking down with a pained expression.

"Gabriel, what is she talking about, what-" Rason said before halting in place, the angel then looking at Gabriel with a careful eye. After a pause he narrowed his eyes at Gabriel.

"Gabriel…where's Luna?" he asked slowly. Moka's group jumped a bit and looked at Gabriel as the angel continued to look down at the ground.

"Gabriel? Where is Luna?" Rason asked sternly. Gabriel slowly looked up to him with a remorseful expression.

"I'm sorry Rason." he said. Moka's group went wide eyed at that as Rason walked closer to Gabriel.

"Gabriel. Where. Is. She." he asked with anger. Gabriel looked at Complica with remorse as the chronofly was whimpering.

"She's still in heaven right? She's still safe, _right_?" Rason asked with clenched fists. Gabriel closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. Rason looked at him with wide eyes then grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

"Where is SHE?" he yelled out with anger. The group looked to Complica as she started to cry, the girl burying her face into Ceal's side as the boy held her gently with one arm. The mage glanced down to her then back to the angel.

"Take one guess angel." he said simply. Rason looked at him with shock then to Gabriel.

"The anomaly in heaven…the one the Almighty wanted her to look at…it was…a rift…into that world." he said shakily. Kurumu and Moka held hands over their mouths with a gasp as Ran went wide eyed.

"She…she went in there?" the siren asked with fright. Gabriel looked at Rason with a pained expression and nodded.

"She…volunteered to check it out. She flew into it days ago, and…" he said before he closed his eyes and shook his head. Rason growled as his eyes started to glow, the boy glaring at Gabriel with rage.

"Gabriel…" he said with great anger. The redheaded angel looked back to him with remorse.

"She never came out." he said quietly.

WHAM!

Gabriel flew back and crashed down through the pavement, the boy coming to a halt after he tore up the ground from the powerful strike by Rason. The group looked to the furious angel as he trembled with both anger and devastation.

"You…sent…Luna…IN THERE?" he yelled out as his wings ripped out from behind him, the group seeing the brightly glowing wings from the angel as his shirts flew off in tatters.

"I'm sorry Rason, we didn't know what it was. The Almighty had no idea either, it wasn't anything of his design. That's why he asked Luna to look at it, we thought it was another rift in time. We thought she could fix it." Gabriel groaned out as he slowly stood back up. Rason yelled out with anger as he clenched his fists, the boy then striking down at the ground and shattering the pavement beneath him. The group watched as he yelled out in agony, the boy unable to bear the thought of his friend being used as a breeder for this dark monster.

"LUNA!" Kurumu screamed looking up at the sky with wide eyes.

"Oh god…NO!" Moka cried out holding her hands to her head.

"She's going to be…she's going to be…" Ran said shaking her head with fright.

"What? What's going to happen to my sister?" Complica asked looking around with tears in her eyes. The group looked to her as she shook her head while whimpering.

"What's going to happen to her? Tell me! What's going to happen to my sister?" she cried out. Everybody looked at her with worry as the chronofly held onto Ceal's hand tightly. The mage glanced down to her with a gentle eye then away.

"She'll be kept in the darkness Complica…alone." he said softly. Complica looked at him worriedly as the group looked at the young chronofly angel. Everybody except Sun, Arial, and Fang Fang knew that Luna wouldn't be alone in the darkness at all, how she would be used as a breeder for more chronoflies.

"No…Luna…" Yukari said as her eyes started to water. Rason growled heavily then looked to Gabriel.

"We need to go after her, right now!" he yelled out.

"Let's go, we need to get her out of there right away." Kurumu said as her wings sprang out from behind her.

"Take me up there Gabriel, take me to that rift right now!" Rason shouted out. Gabriel looked at him with worry then up at the night sky.

"You guys might need a bit more help getting her out of there, who knows how many bad guys you're going to run into there." Render said cautiously.

"I don't care!" Rason shouted out at him, the battlemage backing up while holding his hands defensively.

"There's so many of them, so many in that world." Arial said shaking her head. The group looked to her with surprise as Complica nodded in agreement.

"They're all so dark and scary and there's so many of them." the chronofly whimpered.

"Wait…you two were there? You two were in this dark world?" Moka said with surprise.

"Arial? You went into that place?" Dark asked worriedly. The snow angel looked up at him worriedly.

"I didn't want to go there, I wanted to come down here with you. I overheard Gabriel talking about the rift and thought I could come back down here through it. But…when I went through it there was just…just…" she said looking down.

"Darkness." Ran said softly. The group looked to the siren as she was looking up at the stars in the sky.

"Dark clouds…shadows everywhere…no light…nothing but darkness." she said softly. She looked to the two young angels with worry.

"That was where I was kept prisoner with my sisters for so long. Whatever you saw, however many you thought you could make out in the darkness, it was nothing but a small fraction. He has countless minions at his disposal from all over the human and monster worlds." she said with regret.

"He does?" Complica asked worriedly.

"Ran and her sisters were once this evil bastard's slaves, he used them to charm legions of warriors into joining his army." Kurumu said with frustration.

"That means…Luna's surrounded by hundreds of these dark monsters." Ruby said with worry. Ran shook her head with a frightful face.

"Thousands even. You'll never get to her…not even close. It was a miracle you two got out of there alive." she said looking to the young angels.

"Dammit! We need to get her out of there now!" Rason yelled out into the air. The group looked at him with worried expressions as the angel tried to control his anger.

"We will Rason, we'll figure out something to save her. I promise." Gabriel said while looking down with a pained expression. The thought of Luna being raped and violated in the dark world was causing the angel great pain as well. Rason looked to him with anger, the boy growling loudly as he clenched his fists. He then looked down with closed eyes as Kurumu held him from behind, the girl crying bit and holding her angel close.

"Luna…" he said softly as he trembled a bit, the glow from his wings and eyes slowly dying down.

"We'll get her back…we'll get her back Rason." Kurumu said before she started sobbing, the girl crying into the angel's back as Moka's group looked down with pained expressions. They had no idea that this entire time Luna had already been captured by the dark being. Ahakon slowly glanced over to Arial then looked at her curiously.

"But how did you get down here from there though?" he asked the young angel. Arial shrugged and looked up at the sky.

"I just flew down through the clouds, and ended up here in this world." she said softly.

"Me too, that's how I got trapped down here as well. I flew down through the dark clouds, but I couldn't go back up through them." Complica said worriedly.

"So this dark world…it's above us?" Moka said looking up at the sky.

"Wherever it is, it's between the heavenly realm and the human world. There is a rift that's remained open in heaven, however the rift into the human world is inconsistent, it's disappearing and reappearing around randomly." Gabriel said worriedly.

"That somewhat explains how these two got down here, but that makes me even more worried that an army of dark monsters could be raining down on us from above at any time." Ruby said looking up at the sky with a bit of fear.

"Nothing has come out of the rift in heaven, neither from the dark world or one of our own scouts." Gabriel said with regret. Arial nodded and looked up at the sky.

"Only one of them chased me out when I left, it followed me all the way down to the ground before I got too hot. That's when I met Sun, she saved me." she said looking to the siren. The snow angel jumped then looked at the siren worriedly.

"Wait, that's right. Those dark monsters, they kept coming after her. They kept trying to take her away as well." she said worriedly. The group looked to Sun as she looked around worriedly.

"They did? Why?" Moka asked.

"That's what I want to know." Ceal said coldly. The group looked at him as he walked closer towards Sun.

"Alright, everybody knows what's going on now. I've waited long enough for my own answers. Now, what are you girl? What makes you so special that this powerful monster sends minions and dragons after you? I want to know what the hell you are right now." he said sternly. Sun looked at him worriedly then wrote down something on a pad, the girl then showing him.

I'm just a siren, I'm nothing special.

Ceal read the pad then looked at the girl carefully.

"Why is it you never speak? You always write down everything on that pad, why?" he asked.

"She has to, her voice is too powerful to use with us nearby." Gin said looking at his friend. Kokoa looked at him curiously then to Sun.

"Her voice is too powerful?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes, she's a siren, and her voice has always been extremely powerful, even when speaking normally. She uses that pad to talk to people around her for their own protection." Gin explained as Sun looked at him with a gentle expression.

"She's a siren too?" Ran asked. Sun looked at the girl curiously and pointed to her. Gin nodded and glanced to Ran.

"Yeah, and as if that wasn't a coincidence enough, her last name is Otonashi as well. I thought she was your other sister when you girls came to the academy." he said. The two sirens looked at each other with surprise as the group looked between them.

"You have my last name?" Ran asked with surprise. Sun just looked at the other siren puzzled and nodded slowly. Ceal growled and dark tentacles started to slink up and around the group. Everybody looked around at the limbs then back to Ceal as he glared at Sun.

"You're not just a siren girl. Whoever this dark being is he wouldn't send a_ dragon_ after you for no reason. I want an answer right now as to why he wants you." he said sternly.

"Start talking right now." Kokoa said with a glare at the siren. Sun looked at her and shook her head while shrugging. Kokoa growled and clenched her fists.

"Then start writing, I don't care. You kissed _my_ boyfriend. There was a _dragon_ chasing you in that city. I want a goddamned explanation right now, just who the HELL ARE YOU?" she yelled out with anger. Sun looked at her worriedly then to Ceal as the boy was growling a bit.

"I'm losing my patience siren, and you will _not_ enjoy my company when that happens." he said sternly.

"Seeing as how he's just a ray of sunshine when his patience isn't being lost, I suggest you give him an answer right now." Render suggested glancing to the catalyst mage. Sun showed a fearful expression and wrote down something, the girl then showing everybody.

I honestly don't know why this monster is after me, I'm really nothing special. I'm just a siren who worked at a human inn, I never did anything to provoke anyone coming after me.

"He's sending quite a lot of dangerous creatures after you, you're obviously worth something to him." Dark said cautiously.

"Well it can't be because she's a siren, I mean Ran's a siren and the dragon didn't go after her at all." Ahakon said looking to Ran.

"Ran and her sisters haven't been targeted at all since they were freed, this monster doesn't seem as interested getting them back as he does getting her." Mizore said looking at Sun curiously.

"Sun killed a few monsters that came after her, the same ones I saw in that creepy place. Whoever's in charge there wants her badly." Arial said looking at Sun.

"Just how powerful is her voice? I mean if she can't talk without hurting us maybe that's why this monster wants her." Fang Fang asked carefully. Sun looked around then wrote down something else.

My voice is powerful yes, but I still don't think that makes me that special. Besides I never use it, I've always kept quiet to protect those around me.

"I've never heard of a siren having to keep quiet for the protection of others." Ran said curiously. She looked at the girl carefully then tilted her head.

"How is it you have my last name anyway? Where did you come from?" she asked. Sun looked at her then wrote down something on her pad.

Well I was alone most of my life, I never had any parents and I only knew of my first name. I thought the family name I took was no longer in use.

Ran looked at her puzzled and tilted her head.

"You…knew of my family name? How?" she asked. Sun wrote down something else then showed her.

I adopted it after leaving a village of sirens deep in the forest, I heard the family was killed the night before and I really liked the sound of the name. So I just started using it, I wasn't aware the family had living members still.

Ran watched her carefully as the group looked to her.

"Wait…a village of sirens…deep in a forest?" she asked cautiously. Sun nodded then wrote down something more.

Yes, of course I stumbled across it at a bad time as the entire area was nearly leveled to the ground in a vicious storm.

Ran looked at the siren with wide eyes then slowly pointed to her.

"You…you were there? You were there that night?" she said looking at Sun carefully. The silent siren nodded and looked at her curiously, then wrote down something else.

Yes, are you alright?

Ran stared at the siren with wide eyes, the images of the horrible night flashing before her again. How she saw the shadowy figure flying before her, the one that had feathered wings, long hair, and a long flowing dress. How the mystery monster cast out fire and chaos all around that annihilated her village and killed her parents. How the monster used high pitched sounds and shrieks with powerful magic.

"It was you…" Ran said softly. Sun tilted her head curiously as the group watched Ran, the siren staring at Sun with shock.

"It…was you…it was you!" she yelled out with rage. Sun backed up worriedly as Ran clenched her fists.

"Ran, what is it?" Moka asked worriedly.

"You were the monster I saw that night…it was you! You were the one that destroyed my home, you were the one that destroyed everything! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!" Ran screamed as she dashed forward and tackled Sun to the ground. The group watched with surprise as Ran started choking Sun with fury, the silent siren's legs kicking around from under her.

"You killed my family! You destroyed my village! It was you! It was you that took everything from me!" Ran screamed with anger.

"Ran stop! Let her go!" Gin yelled out running over and yanking the furious siren off of his friend. Sun coughed weakly as Arial and Complica rushed over to her, the siren looking at Ran with wide eyes as the girl was screaming and trying to claw at her still.

"She killed my family! I saw her! I saw her!" she yelled out. Sun slowly stood up before black tentacles grabbed her by the arms and waist, the girl being lifted up into the air as Arial and Complica watched with surprise.

"Ceal stop! Put her down!" Gin called out to the catalyst mage.

"Don't hurt her, please!" Complica begged.

"Let her go now!" Arial yelled out at the mage. Ceal walked up towards the surprised siren and glared at her.

"No more lies siren. Either you start giving me the answers I want or I'll end your life right here and now." he said coldly.

"Stop Ceal, let her go now!" Gin said as she tried to hold Ran back still, the girl trying to charge Sun with fury and tears in her eyes. Kokoa growled and stepped forward.

"Kou, transform now." she said sternly, the bat squeaking then shifting into a large morning star. The group looked to her with wide eyes as the vampire glared at Sun while grabbing her oversized weapon.

"What kind of bat is that?" Fang Fang asked curiously.

"So, you're a murderer huh?" Kokoa said with discontent. Sun shook her head wildly as the group looked back to her.

"She's not a murderer, put her down right now!" Arial yelled out, the ground around her freezing over as her hair frosted over slightly.

"She killed my family! I saw her! I saw her destroy my village!" Ran cried out as she broke down into tears, the girl still trying to charge Sun with vicious swipes of her hands. Arial looked at her with a careful glance then back to Sun with concern. Gin looked at Ran with worry then to Sun as the siren was bound by the dark limbs.

"Sun, what is she talking about? You never killed anyone, right?" he said worriedly. Sun shook her head and looked to Ceal with fear as the boy glared at her. He reached down and picked up her sketchpad then held it out as the tentacles holding her arms loosened.

"I'll give you one chance to explain yourself. If I don't like your answer, this is the end of the line for you." he said coldly. Sun looked at him worriedly then grabbed the sketchpad, the girl shakily writing something down. Ran stopped moving and watched her as did everybody, the group waiting to hear how the silent siren would defend herself from the accusation of being Ran's family killer. The siren wrote down something and quickly showed Ceal.

I was there but I wasn't the one that caused that place to be destroyed. There was another that was going wild and using powerful magic.

"Another?" Ceal asked flatly with a raised eyebrow. A black tentacle wavered around behind the siren then wrapped around her neck, the girl looking with wide eyes at Ceal as the dark limb tightened a bit.

"Is that the best defense you've got? Blaming somebody else for what you did?" Kokoa growled as she glared at the siren.

"It was you! I saw you destroying everything! My village, my home, my parents, you took everything from me!" Ran cried out as she tried not to break down completely. Sun shook her head and hastily wrote down something else.

I tried to stop the one responsible for the village's destruction, but I was knocked out during the fight. I couldn't stop her from destroying everything, even with all my power.

Ceal read the pad then glared at the siren.

"Really. And just who was it that you tried to stop then? If you're so powerful with your voice who was it that you lost to?" he asked as Kokoa glared at the siren while gripping her weapon tightly. Sun shakily wrote down something else as everybody watched her carefully. The girl then showed the pad to Ceal with a worried expression. The mage read the pad then growled a bit, the boy then looking at Sun with cold eyes. Kokoa read the pad then jumped with surprise.

"No…" she said looking to Sun. The siren looked at them worriedly as she was bound by the dark limbs.

"What did she say?" Gin asked as Ran watched the siren with anger and frustration. Ceal grabbed the pad and looked at it carefully then back to the siren. Moka walked over and looked at the pad then gasped.

"Oh no…" she said looking at the writing with wide eyes.

"Moka? What is it?" Ruby asked.

"What did she say?" Ran asked with anger. Moka glanced back to her then to the pad, the vampire then reading aloud what Sun had written down, what the siren claimed to be the true destroyer of the village that night.

"A siren wearing headphones."


	11. A Siren's Desire

Up in the skies of Paradise a few clouds were gently rolling by, the blue and green colors of the sky seeming to meld and shift around while streaks of yellow light swirled by as if outlined by the wind itself. Deep in the lush forest of the strange land Ren was looking up at the lights in the sky with a calm gaze, the siren leaning against a tree while humming a gentle tune to herself. She slowly glanced over to the side, the girl blushing a bit as there were a few large bushes separating where she was and where a boy was in a small spring by a waterfall. The water was falling down from a nearby cliffside in a small stream causing a slight rainbow to shimmer above the clean water below. Although he was now a full blooded vampire Tsukune did not share the weakness to water in the least, something he was thankful for as the boy was leaning back against the edge of the spring while breathing out gently. On the rocks nearby his clothes were folded and set aside while the boy took this moment to relax and to wash himself the best he could while in his isolation. He looked down to his rosary that was attached to his wrist, the boy watching it glitter slightly in the sunlight as he tilted it slightly.

_I would gladly trade away my immunity to water to be rid of this bloodlust. If only I was dealt such a lucky throw by fate._

He sighed and slowly moved over toward the waterfall and let the water douse his upper body, the boy washing the sweat, dirt, and blood off of his body and hair the best he could while thinking of his girlfriend that would be waiting for him back in the monster world. As he did a set of eyes was peeking through a bush, with the branches shifting a bit as a girl was fidgeting while watching the boy bathe in the spring.

"Tsukune…" Ren said with a blush and soft smile, the girl kneeling down in the bush as she watched the vampire bathe in the falling water. She gulped and stared at his body with wonder, the girl getting a full view of his muscle and figure while a rainbow shimmered above him.

_What I wouldn't give to bathe with him…or to bathe him. Maybe…if I ask nicely…_

She shook her head violently then looked back at the boy in the spring with a bit of worry.

_No, there's no way he'll allow me to do so now. He's too much of a gentleman to do that. Besides, I'm sure he's still thinking of…her._

She bit her lip and clenched her fists slightly, the siren remembering the image of Moka from the monster world.

_It's all her fault. She did this to him, and now…he's stuck here dealing with this horrible plague. That damned vampire, she doesn't deserve somebody as incredible as Tsukune._

She slowly looked down and closed her eyes, then backed away behind the bush as she sat down on her knees.

_How can he still think about her after what she did? If it wasn't for her blood…if it wasn't for her…_

"Moka…" she hissed silently, the girl feeling anger towards the pink haired vampire that gave Tsukune her blood. She had been informed by both Ruby and Tsukune that all the vampire sisters did indeed give their blood to save him, however she couldn't help but feel anger towards Moka after Tsukune had fallen victim to this condition, especially with Moka still keeping him to herself even though she was the initial cause to Tsukune's change into a vampire. Ren breathed out slowly and then looked down with a worried expression.

"Tsukune…" she said softly.

"Ren?" Tsukune's voice called out. The girl jumped a good foot in the air then quickly spun around to have her back against the bush.

"Y…y…yes?" she stuttered out.

"What are you doing over there?" Tsukune called out. Ren gulped and looked up nervously.

"I…was just coming to see if you were ok. I didn't look, I swear! Really, I was just…wondering how your bath was." she said with a small smile. She glanced back then forward again.

"Do you need me to do anything for you? Ah! I mean, do you need help with the bath, not with…no! I meant, do you need anything?" she said erratically, the siren then clonking herself on the head as she tried to talk straight. There was a pause as Ren looked down at the ground with a deep blush.

_For god's sake, I'm a siren! How can I not talk correctly like this, speaking perfectly is what we're supposed to do!_

"I'm alright, did you want to get cleaned up in the spring now?" Tsukune asked. Ren blinked then looked ahead with wide eyes.

"C…c…cleaned up…now?" she stammered out.

"Yeah, the water is great and feels relaxing, no need for you not to enjoy it. Besides I'm sure you'd be glad to get cleaned up as well." Tsukune said with a small laugh. Ren tried to keep her thoughts straight, which she was having the utmost difficulty doing.

"Yeah, I'd love to get cleaned up with you. No! I mean, I would love to get cleaned up because I'm so dirty with you, no I mean because I must look horrible to you. No! That's not what I meant!" she said as she hit herself repeatedly on the head.

_For fuck's sake just talk right! You're making yourself out to be some sort of idiot!_

Tsukune just looked over towards the bush where he heard Ren muttering loudly with a curious expression then smiled a bit.

"Are you alright?" he asked with some concern. Ren froze then slowly regained herself.

"Yes, I'm alright. Um…are you…are you finished then?" she asked with a deep blush.

"Almost, just give me a second to get changed then I'll give you your privacy so you can come in." Tsukune said with a friendly tone. Ren smiled softly and held a hand to her cheek, then said the first thing that came to her mind.

"You don't have to leave for me Tsukune, I don't mind." she said softly. She gasped then cried out.

"No! I didn't mean that!" she yelled before she whacked her forehead against a tree in frustration…then promptly dropped to the ground in a daze. Her world was spinning a bit from her strike to her own head, the girl rolling onto her back as the sky was a blur with the trees around her.

"Ren? Ren!" Tsukune's voice was heard, his words seeming to echo a bit. She saw the boy leaning over her quickly, his expression of concern as he shook her a bit.

"Ren? What happened? Are you ok?" he asked, his words fading in and out a bit as her eyes slowly focused.

"Yeah…um…I'm fine." she said as she blinked a few times. She groaned as she held a hand to her head, the girl feeling a lump forming already.

_What is wrong with me? I've never been this much of a ditz before, I'm acting more so than Rin!_

She blinked then slowly realized that she was being carried, the girl then looking to seeing Tsukune holding her in his arms and walking towards the spring.

"Ts…Tsukune?" she said shakily, then slowly glanced down to see that he still had no shirt on. She trembled a bit then slowly glanced down more, the girl not able to tell if he had pants on or not. He looked at her worriedly as she blushed even more.

"Your face looks red, are you feeling alright? You look like you're burning up." he said with concern. She looked at him with timid eyes as words completely failed her.

_If you're not wearing pants right now…I think I'm going to lose it._

"I…uh…you…I…" she stuttered a bit. He looked at her worriedly then slowly set her down by the water, the siren looking at him with timid eyes the entire time while seeming unable to speak. She glanced to the water then back up to him, the girl trying not to look down to see if he had any pants on or not in fear that if he didn't she would probably lose all self-control. The boy leaned in closely and examined her head, the girl feeling her throat dry up a bit.

"What…what are you doing?" she asked shakily. He smiled a bit then reached down towards the spring.

"It's alright, the water isn't cold or anything." he said as he got a handful and gently rubbed it on her forehead, the girl seeming to freeze in place as he washed off a bit of blood.

"What hit you? You're bleeding a bit." he said with concern. She blinked then glanced up to her forehead, the girl feeling a small amount of pain from the bruise.

"Um…a coconut." she said quickly. Tsukune looked at her puzzled then over towards the tree.

"A coconut? Here? Weird, I didn't see any around." he said looking around curiously.

"Tsukune…are you…not wearing…" Ren said shakily, the girl trying to keep eye contact as he looked back to her with an amused smile.

"Relax Ren, I put my underwear on when I jumped out. It's alright." he said gently. She smiled a bit then glanced down, the girl seeing that he had white briefs on. She gulped then slowly looked back to him, the girl's eye twitching a bit as she could easily tell what was in his pants. He looked at her worriedly as she turned a deeper shade of red.

"Ren? What's wrong? You don't look so well." he said worriedly. She shook her head quickly then looked down to the water.

"No, I'm fine. Just…a little hot. That's all." she said quickly. Tsukune nodded then stood up.

"Well ok then, I'm going to go finish getting changed. The water's all yours Ren, why don't you relax a bit while I stand guard nearby." he said with a gentle smile. The siren just looked at the water then glanced up to him.

"By…myself?" she asked softly. He looked at her curiously then around.

"Well I won't be too far off, just call out my name if you need something." he said with a shrug. She just looked at him for a moment then down to the water. She glanced away then wavered a bit, the girl then falling into the water with a splash. Tsukune jumped a bit then watched as Ren surfaced while coughing and moving around a bit.

"Ren? Ren what's wrong?" he asked as he quickly jumped in and helped the girl stay above the water. She coughed a bit and glanced away.

"Sorry…just a little dizzy still. Don't worry about me." she said softly. Tsukune looked at her worriedly then slowly brought her back to the edge of the spring, the boy lifting her up and sitting her down on the edge. Ren's hat dripped a bit as her hair was wet. Her legs and feet were wet and submerged in the water as her skirt and t-shirt were soaked…which gave the boy a clear view of her black bra. He jumped then quickly spun around as she blushed a bit more.

"Sorry! Um…maybe you should lie down for a bit then. I'll…get changed then watch over you while you rest…from over in those trees." he said as he started to move around her. The girl quickly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer, the boy then being held from behind by the siren as she shook her head.

"But I need to get cleaned up still…I'm still so…dirty." she said hugging the boy closer to her. He trembled a bit as he could easily feel her breasts pushing against his back, while her arms held him around his shoulders.

"You can get cleaned up when you're feeling better Ren, it's ok, we'll just rest here for a while-"

"No, we can't waste the whole day on my account Tsukune. Besides there's no telling how long before the weather changes on us again, or when we might be ambushed by more of the locals." Ren said worriedly.

"But Ren, if you're feeling weak or dizzy you should lie down. I'll keep you safe from anything that comes near while you rest, and if the weather changes I can move you away from here." Tsukune said reassuringly.

"But we're already here…and I'm already wet." Ren said holding the boy closer a bit. He tried to keep his eyes looking forward while Ren held him gently and rested her body against him.

_Please let her just be talking about her clothes._

The girl blushed and smiled softly as she held Tsukune close to her.

"I might as well…get cleaned up now while I'm here." she said softly.

"Um…alright. Do you think…you can stand on your own then?" Tsukune asked worriedly. The girl glanced to the water then back to him.

"I'm not sure, my head still hurts a bit. I should be alright though." She said with a nod. He smiled as she let him go then started to move towards the edge of the spring.

"Um, Tsukune?" she asked softly. He looked back to her as she was smiling timidly at him.

"Please don't go." she said softly. The boy jumped a bit and looked at her with a nervous expression.

"What? But…I can't stay here with you. I'll just be over there, I won't be far away." he said pointing to the nearby trees. Ren shook her head as she pulled off her shoes and socks, the girl setting them down by the edge of the spring.

"I would feel safer if you were here watching me…just in case." she said looking at the boy with an innocent smile. He stammered something and shook his head as the girl pulled off her wet t-shirt, the boy then immediately looking up to avoid seeing her bra…which he already could make out before.

"Ren I can't watch you…do that. I'll be close by if you need anything, I promise." he said nervously. She looked at him with a slight pout as she unhooked her bra.

"But what if I lose consciousness in the water? I would drown before you ever knew what happened." she said softly.

"If you're that worried about passing out you shouldn't be in the water at all." Tsukune said with urgency. He heard the siren jump back into the water with a splash, the boy still looking up with closed eyes. Ren giggled softly as she pulled her skirt and underwear off, then tossed them over onto the edge of the spring next to her clothes.

"Too late, I'm already in." she said with a shrug. Tsukune paused then showed a nervous expression.

"You're…not naked, are you?" he asked hesitantly. There was a pause as Tsukune only heard the small waterfall nearby.

"No." Ren said simply. Tsukune breathed out then looked over to the siren, the boy then going wide eyed and blushing a bit.

"I still have my hat on." Ren said looking up at her unique hat. Tsukune's eye twitched as he caught a full view of the siren as she was standing up in the water which only went up to below her thighs. She had her white feathered wings extended out slightly, her hair glistened in the sunlight a bit behind her, and her figure was seen clear as day. A few drops of water ran down her body as the boy felt himself freeze seeing her exposed before him. He yelled out and quickly spun around as the siren giggled quietly.

"I need to go right now!" he cried out as he started climbing out of the spring.

"But Tsukune, you can't leave me all alone in here." Ren pleaded. The boy paused as the siren looked at him with worried eyes.

"What if a monster sneaks in here while you're gone? Or if I faint? You need to protect me Tsukune." she said softly.

"Then get out of the water now!" the boy cried out while keeping his eyes closed.

"But you said I could come into the water to relax and get cleaned up." Ren said worriedly.

"This isn't what I had in mind when I said that." Tsukune said with desperation.

"Please Tsukune, don't go." Ren said as she came up behind the boy and held him close. He jumped a bit as he felt the siren's body pushing up against his back, the boy trying to keep his mind from going off track. He tried not thinking about how soft her breasts were against his body, he tried not to picture the siren's figure which was standing right behind him naked, and he tried to remember just how severely Moka would throttle him if she ever learned about this moment.

"Ren I can't…this isn't…we can't…" he said nervously.

"Don't leave me all alone, please. I don't want to be alone again." Ren said with a whimper. The boy looked ahead towards the forest as the siren clung to him from behind.

"Please Tsukune, don't leave me alone." she said quietly.

"But Ren…" he said gently.

"If you really don't want to look at me…then you don't have to. But please, just stay here with me." Ren said softly. Tsukune paused then looked down a bit.

"If I'm really that bad to look at…I don't want you to have to…" Ren said looking away.

"Ren…it's not that you're bad to look at. Quite…the opposite really. It's just…I'm with Moka, remember? I can't be…doing this with you. Please, don't ask me to…do this." Tsukune said gently. The two stood there as all that was heard was the sound of the waterfall near them. After a while Ren slowly let go of Tsukune and turned away.

"I see. I'm…sorry Tsukune. Forgive me, I…should be fine on my own with this." she said quietly as she started walking away from him. He looked ahead with a bit of concern then slowly climbed out of the spring. He walked over to his clothes and started to dress again, the boy glancing back to see Ren standing in the water near the cliffside with her back turned to him.

"Ren, I'll be nearby if you need anything. Just call me if you're not feeling well, alright?" he said worriedly. The siren paused then slowly nodded. Tsukune looked down for a moment then walked out into the tree line surrounding the spring. After he left Ren slowly glanced back to where he was at, the girl's eyes watering slightly as she sniffled.

"Tsukune…" she said softly. She then looked up as the waterfall was to her side, the girl seeing the strange sky through the faint rainbow by the falls. She closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of the water falling next to her, the girl remaining still as her wings were retracted slightly behind her.

Over by the trees facing away from the spring Tsukune was leaning back against a tree while looking up at the sky through the leaves and branches. He had calmed down from seeing a naked Ren and was trying to focus his mind back on the task of dealing with his bloodlust. As he did so he had to try to fight off the image of the siren as it kept slipping back into his mind, the boy trying not to think about her in such a way. After a moment he sighed and looked down at the ground with closed eyes.

_She may be the youngest of the three, but she certainly didn't seem that way to me._

* * *

All eyes were on Ran as the siren stared with disbelief, the girl unable to believe what she just heard as she looked at Sun who was bound by the necro demon from below. Gin looked to Ran as the siren was stunned to hear what the group just heard. It wasn't the fact that Sun was at her home village all those years ago, or that she was supposedly there on the night the entire village was wiped out by a vicious monster attack. It was that Sun had described the true culprit of the village's destruction, somebody the group knew of very well.

"It couldn't be. Her?" Yukari said looking to Moka with surprise. The vampire just stared at the sketchpad that Sun had written on what she saw that night, what she tried to stop from destroying the village, and what overpowered her even with her powerful voice.

A siren wearing headphones.

"My god…" Moka said looking back to Ran. The siren shook her head and glared at Sun with tears and frustration.

"No…no! That's not true, my sister would never do that! She couldn't do that!" she yelled out. Sun looked at her with surprise as Ceal was looking at the pad in his hands with a focused gaze. He growled then gave the pad back to the silent siren.

"I want a full description of what you saw siren, right now." he said sternly. Sun looked at him with wonder then to Ran again, the girl crying and shaking her head.

"Liar! You're a murdering liar!" she yelled out. Sun took the pad and wrote down something else, the group all watching her cautiously.

"Do you think Rin could have done that? I mean, a siren wearing headphones, that's gotta be her right?" Kurumu said worriedly.

"Depends, how many sirens do you know that wear headphones?" Leon asked carefully.

"My sister couldn't have done that, it's not true!" Ran cried out. Sun glanced to her with a careful eye then back to her writing. The girl then finished writing something down then handed the pad to Ceal, the boy grabbing it and looking down at the writing. Kokoa and Moka walked closer and read the pad as Sun looked at Ran with wonder.

She was a younger siren, with long blonde hair that shifted to orange at the bottom. She had headphones on, a yellow dress, and had red eyes.

"Oh god, that's her, that's…wait, red eyes?" Kokoa said looking at the pad closely. Moka looked at the pad then to Sun.

"She had red eyes? Are you sure?" she asked. Sun nodded with a worried expression. Ran looked at them cautiously as Ceal shook his head.

"The siren back at Yokai Academy had blue eyes." he said glancing to the silent siren.

"That's right, Rin's eyes are blue. But…the headphones, and hair color. That sounds just like her. Is it just a coincidence?" Moka said looking down at the pad again. Ran looked at Sun carefully and shook her head.

"I don't believe you, you were that monster I saw, I know it!" she yelled out.

"Are you sure it was her? I mean did you really see her?" Ahakon asked worriedly. Ran looked to him then down.

"I know I did…but…" she said hesitantly.

"But?" Dark asked. Ran paused then glanced back to Sun.

"I didn't get…a clear look at her. There was smoke and ash flying around…and my glasses got smudged…and I hit my head then…" she said reluctantly. Arial growled and shook her head.

"Then you didn't see Sun do anything, it sounds like you couldn't see anything at all!" she yelled out.

"She's right, it sounds like you're not too sure yourself." Fang Fang said curiously. Ran looked at Sun with frustration as the silent siren had a sympathetic expression.

"But she was there! It had to have been her, my sister couldn't have done such a thing, it's not possible! There was no siren in our village powerful enough to destroy the entire place in one night!" she cried out.

"She never said it was your sister, she just said she saw a siren wearing headphones." Gin said defensively as he let the siren go. Ran looked at him with worry then to Sun. The silent siren reached out and grabbed her pad then wrote down something else, the girl then showing Ran with a remorseful expression.

I'm sorry, I truly did try to stop that siren from destroying your village. I wanted to help, I thought I finally found a home for myself then. I'm sorry.

Ran looked at her with sorrow then down.

"But…if she didn't do it…who did?" she asked shakily.

"That description sounds just like Rin, except for the eyes." Kurumu said worriedly.

"And she's back in the monster world with Falla." Ruby said looking to Ceal. The mage growled then glared at Sun. He hesitated then snapped his fingers, and in doing so the black tentacles around the siren let go and vanished. The girl dropped to the ground with a thud as the mage looked back over to Ran.

"I trusted Falla's life in your sister's hands. Pray for her sake that was not a mistake." he said coldly. Ran looked at him worriedly and shook her head.

"My sister wouldn't have killed our family, she couldn't have destroyed our village. It's just not possible." she said shakily. Ceal looked at her with a cold glare for a moment then over to the silent siren. Sun slowly got up as Ceal walked up towards her.

"Your accusation of that siren's nature may be valid, however there's still the matter regarding this dark monster's interest in you." he said as the siren backed up slowly, the girl moving closer towards the railing overlooking the blue sea. Ceal walked closer to her still as the group watched cautiously.

"Sounds like he wants you badly, after all he's willing to throw all these monsters and even dragons at you. You're more important than you seem to believe. What I want to know is what makes you so damned valuable to him? If that other siren truly was more powerful, why not go after her? Why is it he seems fixated on you?" he said eyeing the girl carefully. Kokoa walked up next to him with her large morning star in hand, the vampire watching the siren carefully.

"Maybe we can trade her for Luna." Kokoa said with discontent. Sun looked at her worriedly and shook her head.

"We're not giving that bastard Sun, that's not an option." Gin said shaking his head.

"Hey, he wants her, and we want Luna back. It's a fair trade." Kokoa said sternly.

"You're not giving that creep Sun, no way!" Arial yelled out. She pulled on Dark's arm, the demon looking down to her as she shook her head.

"Please don't let them hurt her, she saved my life. She's a good person, I know she is." she said worriedly. Dark nodded then glanced to Ceal.

"She does have a point, this siren so far hasn't done anything wrong or suspicious. She's helped Arial and Complica survive in this world until they met us. As far as I can tell she's innocent." he said calmly. Ceal glanced to him then down to Complica, the chronofly nodding in agreement.

"She's not bad, she's not." she said worriedly. The catalyst mage just looked at her for a moment then back to Sun. The siren nodded with a worried expression as all eyes fell on her. Kokoa growled and pointed her morning star towards the siren with a deep glare.

"Kokoa stop, she's not a bad-" Moka started before Kokoa whipped the morning star down into the ground with a fierce strike, the pavement cracking apart as the group jumped back a bit.

"She KISSED my BOYFRIEND!" Kokoa screamed out. The group looked to Gin who just shrugged with a nervous expression.

"I…didn't expect that either to be honest…" he said nervously. Kokoa growled then looked at him with frustration.

"Just who is she? How do you know her, and why did she kiss you like that?" she yelled out.

"We have more pressing matters right now to deal with rather than your petty jealousy vampire." Ceal said flatly. Kokoa growled loudly as she looked at him with fury.

"Oh I'm sorry, I know the world has gone to hell all around us, my friend's captured and being kept in the darkness, and we're all wanted criminals. It's just that in times like this I would really love to try to calm down with my boyfriend, but there's the pressing matter of the fact that SOME FUCKING BITCH KISSED HIM IN FRONT OF ME!" she roared as she looked back to Sun, the vampire's skin starting to give off a haze.

"Kokoa, wait! Don't use your overcharge!" Moka cried out.

"Too late." Ruby said as the group watched the vampire growl loudly at the siren, her skin giving off a deep haze as her monster energy started to multiply. Dark backed Arial up with his arm as Mizore backed up as well, the snow girls watching Kokoa carefully as they could see the heat coming from her.

"Overcharge?" Render asked.

"What's with her vampire energy, it's growing even larger." Leon said as the group saw the torrent of energy starting to circle around the vampire.

"She can amplify her monster energy to extreme levels…this is going to be bad." Yukari said backing up with Ahakon. Kokoa roared and dashed towards Sun in a flash, the vampire grabbing her mace and swinging it around with a fierce strike. Chunks of pavement shot out from resting spot of the large weapon as Sun watched with a stunned expression, the siren seeing the vampire moving in a blur towards her with a large burst of monster energy around her. As the vampire swung down with her mace the siren shot into the air, her wings spreading out as she soared up over the overlook. The group watched as the strike from the vampire created a massive shockwave and explosion, the ground shattering and cracking apart as the group stumbled back a bit. The vampire looked up with a murderous glare as Sun watched her with wide eyes. The cliffside below them cracked slightly as bits of loose dirt and small rocks dropped down towards the sea.

"Kokoa stop this, don't hurt her!" Gin called out as he looked at his temperamental girlfriend. Kokoa growled loudly then looked over towards the wolf, the girl's eyes glaring at him as smoke started to come from her clothing.

"Who…is…she?" she growled as she started walking towards him.

"Um…you're smoking." Render said pointing at the girl. Fire flared around her shirt behind her, the vampire staring down Gin as she walked closer to him while holding her large weapon.

"You're…on fire." Render said backing up with the group. Arial watched with worry then darted behind Dark, the snow angel peeking out to seeing fire flaring around the vampire. Mizore backed up more as she saw flames starting to flare along Kokoa's arms.

"Kokoa calm down, you're going to burst into flame soon. Literally." Gin said worriedly.

"And just why is she going to do that?" Leon asked worriedly.

"Her monster energy creates a massive heat buildup, she'll really burst into flame soon." Ahakon said as he and Yukari backed up even further. Arial's eyes widened and looked at the vampire with a bit of fear as Dark shielded her with his arm.

Kokoa gripped her weapon with both hands as she growled furiously.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN?" she said with anger.

"Going to assume she's not going to calm down." Fang Fang said nervously. Moka and Kurumu merely shook their heads.

"I've been shot at, hunted down, and forced to run away all day trying to save my big sis and the others…I'm trapped here in the human world…and this _girl_ kissed you right in front of me. Either you give me one good explanation why she did that or I'm going to throttle BOTH OF YOU!" she yelled out.

"Calm down Kokoa, I'm not sure Ceal would be up for putting either of you back together." Moka said worriedly.

"That would be correct." Ceal said flatly.

"See? He's not going to do anything this time, so calm down Kokoa." Kurumu said nervously. Gin glanced up to the siren that was looking down at him with worry then back to Kokoa.

"She…used to be in the newspaper club, she graduated two years ago. She was in charge of it until she graduated, then I took over." he said cautiously.

"You already told me that, but what I want to know is why she KISSED YOU!" Kokoa screamed. Gin looked at her worriedly then up to Sun, the girl flying above the group while watching the flames race across Kokoa's back.

"She…I…" he said hesitantly.

"She what?" Kokoa yelled out. Gin looked down with closed eyes then back to her with a solemn expression.

"She was the girl I…confessed my love to first." he said with a bit of remorse. Kokoa looked at him with wide eyes as he shook his head.

"And, she rejected me. She said that she wasn't ready for anything serious yet, and that we should just remain friends." he said with a tone of remorse. Kokoa looked at him with wonder then up to Sun, the siren watching them with a cautious expression.

"So…she said no to you…and then kisses you?" Razico asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Looks like she changed her mind on her answer." Kurumu said looking up at the siren. Kokoa growled as flames flared around her, her pink jacket starting to burn and char as the group looked at her cautiously.

"So…that's what this is about. You think you can just take him back now? You think you can just say yes to him now? Well too bad, you had your chance and you blew it. He's MINE!" Kokoa yelled as she swung her mace up and threw it towards the siren. Sun watched with wide eyes as the weapon flew towards her, the girl dodging to the side just in time as it whirred past her in a blur. Before she could move she looked over to see Kokoa having leapt up towards her, the vampire grabbing the siren's foot then throwing her down towards the ground. The girl slammed into the ground on her back and coughed out, her eyes going wide as her sketchpad bounced away from her.

"Sun!" Gin cried out.

"No!" Complica cried out shaking her head. Arial looked at the siren with wide eyes then up to seeing Kokoa flying down towards the girl with a kick, her eyes glaring at the siren as flames flared around her foot. The group watched as Kokoa flew down and struck into the ground, the pavement around her blasting apart with a powerful bang as debris flew up into the air. The entire area around the vampire seemed to blast apart and shatter as dust flew around wildly. The ground started cracking as the overlook trembled, the group looking around as large cracks started to etch across the pavement near the sidewalk.

"Kokoa no!" Moka cried out.

"No…no! Sun!" Arial cried out shaking her head. Gin stared with wide eyes as the dust cloud billowed around while the ground was shaking.

"Kokoa, no…" he said softly.

"Um…guys? I think we should move." Render said looking around. The entire overlook started to crack apart and slide down into the water, with the railing and benches crumbling away as the group ran over to the road near their vehicles. Gin stared with wide eyes then ran into the dust cloud as fast as he could. He raced over and saw Kokoa lying unconscious in a large crater, the girl out cold from her release of all her energy.

"Kokoa, how could you, how could-…Sun?" Gin said looking around quickly. There was no sign of the girl at all, only her sketchpad was nearby. Gin looked around then quickly grabbed the pad and picked up his girlfriend, the wolf then racing out as the ground shattered and started dropping down towards the seaside.

"Gin!" Ruby yelled out, the group standing by their vehicles and watching as dust shot up around the area before the ground began to drop down towards the water.

"Oh god…Kokoa, how could you?" Moka said shaking her head.

"She…annihilated that girl…and the surrounding area." Render said with disbelief.

"No…Sun!" Arial cried out shaking her head. She buried her face into Dark's side and cried as the group watched Gin jump out of the dust cloud while the last chunks of land fell down towards the sea. He landed down near the group holding Kokoa in his arms, the boy looking down at her with a pained expression as the group looked to him. Arial looked at the vampire with wide eyes then growled.

"She…she killed Sun!" she yelled out.

"No she didn't." Dark said, the group looking to him as he was looking over to the side. Everybody looked over to seeing Sun sitting on the ground next to Complica on the sidewalk, the siren looking at the chronofly with wide eyes as the young angel was watching the remains of the overlook fall into the sea.

"Sun!" Arial cheered out as she ran towards her.

"Complica, did you…did you save her?" Moka said with surprise. Complica looked at her then to Sun, the siren slowly standing up as Arial ran over and hugged her tightly.

"You did it Complica, you saved her with your time magic!" Arial cheered out. Suddenly a ripple shot out around Complica and blasted apart the ground around her, the girl looking around with surprise as rifts of time seared away in a flash. She blinked then looked over to Sun and Arial, the siren holding the snow angel close as the two were looking with wide eyes at the two large crevices that were carved around them. They had watched as searing rifts of space shot past them by a hair, the two girls nearly torn to shreds in the blink of an eye.

"What…the hell?" Arial said nervously as she and the siren looked back to Complica. The chronofly shook her head worriedly.

"Sorry…my magic has always been…unstable." she said nervously. Arial and Sun looked to each other then to Complica, the girl looking down with remorse.

"Amazing, you moved her out of the way in time." Moka said as the group walked over to them. Complica jumped a bit and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well…not exactly." she said nervously.

"What do you mean? You moved her out of harm's way just like your sisters always did." Yukari said with awe. Complica cringed a bit then looked to Sun, the siren looking at her with wide eyes still. The group looked to her as the siren glanced around at everybody.

"Sun? Didn't she save you?" Gin asked. Sun glanced to Kokoa then to Complica.

"So…what just happened here?" Leon asked. Gin tossed Sun her sketchpad, the siren catching it then writing something down before showing the group. They read it then blinked, then just looked at Complica.

"I tried alright! I'm sorry!" the girl cried out.

A few moments earlier:

_"No!" Complica cried out shaking her head. Arial looked at the siren with wide eyes then up to seeing Kokoa flying down towards the girl with a kick, her eyes glaring at the siren as flames flared around her foot. Complica ran towards Sun and shifted into time, the girl focusing with all her might to stay shifted properly as she raced towards her friend._

_'C'mon, focus! Focus, you have to save her!'_

_The girl ran over and grabbed Sun's hand, the siren shifting into the moment and looking at Kokoa with shock. She then looked over to Complica as the chronofly was trying to pull her away._

_"Run Sun! Run before it's too late!" she cried out. Sun got to her feet before a wild ripple of magic flew around Complica, the ground around her blasting apart as Sun watched searing rifts of torn space fly at her. The girl jumped back in surprise then froze in the moment, the girl remaining still as the erratic trails of torn space flew around. Complica cried out and tackled the siren to the ground as a sear sliced around where the girl's head was. Sun shifted back into time and looked at the chronofly with shock._

_"I'm sorry, my magic isn't stable! Just please hurry!" she cried out tugging the siren's arm. Sun looked at her with wide eyes then scrambled to her feet. She took one step before another pulse of magic blasted around the chronofly, the siren then jumping away with a frightened expression as the air around her tore apart and seared away. Complica cried out and darted over and pushed Sun out of the way, the siren then freezing into place as the tear ripped past where she just was and dug into the ground. Complica ran over then grabbed Sun's hand again, the chronofly shifting her back into the moment._

_"I'm sorry! Just run!" she cried out. Before Sun could even take step another pulse of magic rippled around Complica, the ground below her tearing apart as waves of torn space flew around erratically. Sun looked around with an open mouth then backed up as a tear flew around towards her face. She dodged over to the side into a roll, the girl freezing in place as the tear just missed her back. Complica cried out with frustration as she ran over to her and grabbed her hand. The siren continued with her roll and took Complica with her, the chronofly spinning around before landing on her back with Sun on top of her._

_"Um…sorry about that…" Complica said worriedly. Sun blinked then watched as another pulse of magic rippled from the chronofly around her sides, the ground searing apart wildly as the siren looked around with shock. She jumped off to the side as a tear flew by where she just was, with Complica watching with worry as the tear just missed her as well._

_"I'm sorry!" she cried out as she scrambled back to her feet and grabbed Sun's hand. The siren started to freak out as she looked around fearfully while Complica tried to guide the siren away from the vampire's point of impact. Before she could take a step the ground below them was sliced apart wildly as ripples of torn space flew around. Sun hopped around on her feet with an expression of fright as Complica cried out with remorse._

_"I'm sorry!"_

Back to the present:

The group stared at Complica as the girl was looking down with worry, everybody having read Sun's explanation on how she was 'saved' by Complica. The chronofly rubbed the back of her head and looked back over to the overlook.

"So wait…the reason the area was destroyed…was from you?" Render said looking at the chronofly. Complica twitched a bit then nodded.

"Um…kinda." she said softly.

"Holy crap, you nearly killed her worse than Kokoa would have." Yukari said shaking her head.

"I'm sorry! My magic is always unstable, I can never properly control it." Complica whined before looking down with remorse. Arial looked at her friend with wide eyes then up to Sun. The siren wrote down something else and showed the group with a shrug.

You have to give her credit for trying.

"Trying? Sounds like she was trying to kill you more than anything." Ruby said shaking her head.

"I'm sorry!" Complica cried out. She cried and looked down while rubbing a few tears away from her eyes, the group looking to her with sympathy.

"I tried to save her, but I can't stay shifted properly. I can never focus enough to keep stable, I've always been horrible with my magic." she said with a whimper. Sun looked at her with a sympathetic expression then to Kokoa. Everybody looked to her as Gin held the sleeping vampire in his arms.

"I can't believe she tried to…well, actually I can believe it." Kurumu said simply.

"Saw it coming as well." Mizore said in agreement. Sun cringed a bit then dropped to a knee, the girl holding her side as the group looked at her with worry.

"Sun, are you ok?" Arial asked with urgency. The siren showed a strained expression as she tried to move a bit.

"She hit the ground pretty hard back there, that had to have hurt." Apoch said worriedly.

"She must have been terrified during Ms. Complica's attempted rescue/murder of her to pay it any mind." Astreal reasoned.

"Stop picking on me!" Complica whined loudly. Sun cringed then looked behind to seeing Ceal holding a hand to her back. A glow came from his hand as the group watched him curiously.

"Ceal? What are you doing?" Moka asked. The group watched as Sun showed less and less discomfort, the girl's spine and muscles healing and shifting around a bit as the boy restored her internal body to normal. The siren blinked then slowly stood up as her back was healed, the girl looking towards her back then to him with wonder. The mage stood up and glanced away with a dull expression.

"Ceal, you healed her." Complica said in wonder. She smiled then ran over to him, the girl hugging him around his waist.

"Thank you Ceal." she said softly. Ceal rolled his eyes and looked away.

"I merely need her alive." he said simply. The group looked at him curiously as he glanced to the siren.

"Whatever you are, this dark being is going to be coming after you. We could use you as bait." he said simply. The siren looked at him curiously then a bit worriedly.

"Really? Are you sure you helping her has nothing to do with the fact that Complica wanted her to live to the point that she nearly killed her herself?" Razico asked with a smirk. Complica looked down with embarrassment as Ceal growled a bit.

"That has nothing to do with it." he said firmly. Render and Leon smirked and glanced to their girlfriends, the girls glancing back with knowing smiles.

"I think you have a thing for butterfly girls. I mean you only ever took Falla's feelings into account, now you're helping her sister as well. Just admit it, you have a soft side like a normal person." Render said with a chuckle. He was yanked into the air as a black tentacle lifted him up by his foot, the group looking to him with surprise as Ceal glared at him.

"Watch your mouth hunter, or those words may be your last." the mage said with a dark tone as Render was swung around, the boy crying out with surprise as his leg was held by the dark limb. Apoch formed her blade of light and sliced away the tentacle, the girl then looking up to seeing Render falling down and crashing into her. As the two fell to the ground Complica looked up at Ceal curiously.

"Arg, um…thanks babe." Render groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Sure thing Render." Apoch said slowly getting up, the witch then helping her boyfriend up as well. Render chuckled a bit then looked to Ceal carefully.

"Anything else you'd like to say?" the catalyst mage said with a cold glare. Render glanced to Complica then back to Ceal.

"Um…nope, nothing else that needs to be said." he said shaking his head. Ceal looked at him for a moment then back to Sun.

"Do not take what I did as an act of kindness siren, I merely need you in one piece for this dark being to come after." he said with a cold tone. Sun looked at him worriedly then to Gin, the wolf looking down at his sleeping girlfriend. Arial growled as she glared at the vampire.

"She tried to kill Sun." she said with anger. Gin looked at her with concern then to Sun, the siren looking at him worriedly.

"Gee, I wonder why. Sorry girl, but this guy's taken now, you're a bit too late." Kurumu said shaking her head. Sun looked at her with worry then back to Gin, the siren then writing down something on her pad to show him.

I wasn't aware you had a girlfriend now, I'm sorry.

She glanced to Kokoa with a raised eyebrow then wrote down something else.

So you picked somebody with a serious anger problem as your girlfriend?

Gin jumped a bit then smiled nervously.

"Well…she and I have been through a lot together, and-" he started before Sun wrote down something else and showed him with a curious expression.

Isn't she a bit young for you? She doesn't seem mature enough for somebody like you.

"Hey, you had your chance when Gin asked you, you can't get mad at him for moving on." Moka said shaking her head. Sun glanced to her and wrote down something else.

I'm not mad, just curious. This girl seems a bit unstable, I'm just wondering what she has that he finds attractive.

Gin looked down to the sleeping vampire and smiled gently, the boy holding her securely as she was out cold from her overcharge.

"I find her attractive Sun, everything about her. I love her." he said confidently. Sun looked at him curiously then wrote down something else.

You said those words to me before, do you no longer mean them?

"What the hell girl, he picked somebody else after you gave him up. Get over it and move on." Kurumu scoffed at the siren.

"I'd say this guy is better off with Sun, she's a lot prettier and isn't out of her damned mind." Arial said while glaring at Kokoa. Sun glanced to Kokoa then back to Gin as the boy was looking down at his girlfriend.

"Are you serious guys? Have you all forgotten about Luna?" Rason yelled out. The group looked to him as he pointed up at the sky.

"You do realize that she's up there right now suffering while we're down here discussing who Gin should have as a girlfriend. What the hell is wrong with all of you?" he yelled out. The group looked to him as he growled with frustration.

"I don't care if this girl is a murderer or a better choice for Gin or whatever, what I care about is getting Luna out of that dark world right now!" he shouted out as his wings gave off a bright glow briefly. Complica looked up worriedly then to Ceal.

"You're going to help her right? You're going to save my sister right?" she asked urgently. Ceal glanced to her then to Rason.

"We haven't forgotten angel, my group has known about her whereabouts long before we found you. However we haven't forgotten that we can't get to her from here, in fact we can't even return to our own world." he said with a bit of annoyance. Rason clenched his fists and growled loudly, the boy feeling furious about his friend's captivity.

"We can fly through the rift that's in heaven right? Take us up there and we'll get her out." Kurumu said confidently.

"We all can't fly up there Kurumu. That means that it would be just you, Rason, Gabriel, Ruby, Astreal, and Ran on a suicide mission into that place." Mizore said shaking her head.

"I'm not going back in there, are you crazy?" Ran cried out.

"We would be going against so many of his minions there, we would be greatly outnumbered. He may even have more dragons at his disposal. Even with all of us we're still facing overwhelming odds here." Astreal said worriedly.

"But you all faced Alucard, you beat an unbeatable destroyer!" Complica cried out.

"We did so with your sisters' help, and we all just barely won that battle. But this isn't going up against a single dangerous enemy, this is going up against an army of dangerous enemies." Yukari said worriedly. Arial looked to Dark with worry.

"You can save her right? You can get her out of that place right?" she asked hopefully. The demon glanced down to her then looked over towards the seaside.

"We will Arial, but at the moment we don't have the ability to go after her or even to locate where in the dark world she is. Right now we don't have much to work with." he said with a bit of frustration. Arial looked at him worriedly then to Complica, the chronofly whimpering and looking around at the group.

"Please, she needs help. You all have to help, you just have to." she begged.

"We want to help, really. And we will, but we need a bit of a plan here." Render said cautiously.

"And if _he_ suggests stopping to think of a plan, that usually means that we'd better damned well do it." Leon said flatly. Rason looked to them with frustration then down as Kurumu looked down with worried eyes.

"Luna, we have to get her out of there. We…we can't just do nothing." she said shaking her head.

"There's nothing we can do for her right now, we can't even help ourselves. We're stuck here in this world, we don't even have a place to go to for the night." Moka said with remorse. She felt pain from the thought that Luna would be suffering in the dark world, the vampire willing to give nearly anything to save the chronofly from such a dire fate.

"Excuse me." Fang Fang said while raising a hand. The group looked to him as he was smiling worriedly.

"If I may make a suggestion, it seems we're all a bit on edge here, what with being hunted down like dogs and coming across slight issues with each other. So, seeing as how you all won't be able to return to the monster world, I'd be happy to offer you all a place to stay, as thanks for helping me escape as well." he said graciously. The group glanced to each other then back to him.

"You're…offering us a place to stay?" Moka asked curiously. Fang Fang nodded with a gentle smile.

"You all saved my life, I owe you. The least I can offer you is a place to rest after all this." he said kindly. He looked to Rason and Kurumu with a sympathetic expression.

"I do feel sorry for your friend's plight, but it sounds like you going after her right now won't help her. Please, rest and plan a proper move to make better use of your strength, don't rush into this and ruin your only chance of saving her." he said worriedly. Rason and Kurumu looked at him for a moment then to each other. The yasha then looked at Ceal with a nervous smile.

"And I'd be more than happy to allow you to stay as well. I know such an offer doesn't quite pay off my family's debt to you, but please allow me to offer you a place to rest after your long ordeal. At least give me a chance to make amends for how my father treated you." he said kindly. Ceal just looked at him with a cold stare for a moment then narrowed his eyes. Fang Fang looked at him nervously then over to Sun.

"And you miss, you may wish to stay close to this group of monsters, for your own safety." he said with a shrug. Sun looked at him curiously as he gestured around at the group.

"Like Ceal mentioned, this dark being is after you and is throwing a lot of powerful monsters in your direction. I would recommend staying in the presence of those that defeated Alucard, they may be the only ones that can keep you safe." he said simply. Sun looked around at the group then to Ceal, the mage glancing to her then back to the yasha. Fang Fang smiled nervously then looked to Complica and Arial.

"Not to mention you can't have these two walking the streets, especially seeing as how they are in such danger down in this world. They'll be as safe as can be at my place until you can figure out how to return them back to their heaven." he said reassuringly. Arial and Complica looked to each other then back to him. Fang Fang smiled at them then looked to the group.

"If that would be acceptable, I'd gladly show you the way to my family's estate. You may be monsters, but you'll be safe there." he said reassuringly.

"I don't need your charity yasha." Ceal said with a cold tone. Fang Fang glanced to him worriedly as the catalyst mage's reptilian hand glowed a black hue.

"I was merely offering to help, I want to pay you all for helping me escape the HDA today." he said nervously.

"Where do you live that would allow us to stay?" Gabriel asked curiously. Fang Fang rubbed the back of his head with a small smile.

"Well…someplace where there's lots of room and you won't be bothered by the HDA." he said with a shrug.

"Where's that?" Moka asked. Fang Fang looked at her with a calm smile.

"My family has a large estate on the edge of the city." he said simply. The group glanced to each other then back to the yasha.

"Really? You'll just let all of us stay there?" Leon asked curiously. Fang Fang nodded as he gestured around the group.

"It's the very least I can do to help you, please, I insist." he said graciously.

"Well, we could use somewhere to sleep for the night." Ruby said looking to Razico. The warlock nodded then looked to Fang Fang.

"Thank you Fang Fang, I think we'll take you up on that offer." he said with a slight smile.

"Splendid, it's been so long since I've had guests over to visit." Fang Fang said clapping his hands together. Ceal growled a bit, with the yasha looking over to him worriedly.

"I assure you that you will be welcome as well, my father is out of the city on business at the moment. I'll have my guards allow your stay without a problem." he said assuredly. Ceal glared at him for a moment then glanced down to Complica, the girl holding onto his hand worriedly. After a pause the mage looked away with annoyance.

"One condition yasha." he said firmly. The group looked to him as he kept looking away.

"Your family is paying the bill for me killing that dragon today. I don't work for free after all." he said simply. Fang Fang jumped a bit and looked at him nervously.

"What? But…we never hired you to kill _that_ one." he said nervously.

"No, but I did save your worthless life by doing so. If your father has a problem with that I'll speak to him directly." Ceal said looking back to the yasha with a cold glare.

"But…but…" Fang Fang stuttered.

"I'd say that's fair, I mean your family did stiff him after the first dragon he killed for you." Ahakon said with a shrug.

"You owe Ceal for killing two dragons now, don't try to weasel out of that again." Yukari said shaking her head. Fang Fang looked to her worriedly then back to Ceal.

"Just out of curiosity, what are your rates for killing a dragon?" Razico asked the catalyst mage. Ceal glanced to him then looked back at Fang Fang.

"3000 gold bars for a youngling, 6000 for an adult." he said crossing his arms before him. The group jumped and looked at him with wide eyes as Fang Fang looked down with worry.

"Oh dear…I fear that'll be coming out of my allowance." he said with concern.

"Holy shit!" Rason and Gabriel said in shock.

"Holy shit is right…that's…9000 gold bars for both of those dragons!" Razico cried out.

"Good lord." Apoch and Astreal said holding hands over their mouths.

"Wow, I figured it would be pricy to hire a dragon slayer, but that's really expensive." Kurumu said with surprise. Complica looked at Ceal with wonder then over to Fang Fang as the yasha sighed a bit. Moka looked at Ceal with wide eyes then over to Fang Fang.

"Just what is it your family does that allows you to pay for that?" she asked with a stunned expression. Fang Fang smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh…you know, this and that." he said with a shrug.

"What kind of 'this and that' would that be? That's a fortune in the monster world." Gin asked with puzzlement. The group looked to Ceal as he just stared at the yasha with a dull expression. Fang Fang glanced to him then looked back down.

"I don't suppose we could negotiate that price, could we?" he asked worriedly.

"Of course we could yasha, gold doesn't matter to us after all, we only ask for a fair payment for our services. If that's too much for you I could always settle for your family's blood." Ceal said coldly. Fang Fang jumped a bit then waved his hands around nervously.

"No no! The gold is fine, really! I'll pay it!" he pleaded loudly. He sighed and glanced away.

"Father's going to kill me." he said quietly. He nodded then looked at the group with a weak smile.

"Well then, let's get going shall we? I'm sure you're starving as well, a warm meal and a good nights rest will help you prepare for your endeavors tomorrow." he said kindly.

"Thank you Fang Fang, we really could use all the help we can get here." Moka said with a slight bow.

"Please, the pleasure is all mine. Helping the famous heroes of Alucard, never imagined I would have such an honor." Fang Fang said waving his hands in front of him. Ceal rolled his eyes then looked to Gin.

"Keep your vampire on a tighter leash, we need this siren alive for now." he said simply. Gin looked to Kokoa then to Sun, the siren showing a worried expression from that. Ceal started walking towards an SUV then glanced to Fang Fang, the catalyst mage narrowing his eyes for a moment before walking over to the vehicle. Complica pulled on Sun's arm, the siren looking down to her as the young angel was motioning towards the SUV. Sun nodded then looked to Ran with a bit of remorse, the silent girl then writing something down on her pad to show her.

I am sorry about your village, I really did try to stop that siren from destroying it.

Ran looked at the pad then to Sun with a cautious expression.

"I still don't believe you…my sister could never have done something like that." she said shaking her head. Sun nodded then wrote down something else.

It must have been another siren, I never meant to accuse your own family of doing such a thing.

Ran just looked at the pad then the siren with a worried expression, then started walking over towards the other SUV. Ahakon and Yukari looked at each other then to Sun as the silent siren was looking down with worry.

"I don't think you're a murderer, but I'd tread lightly around Kokoa and Ran right now. Especially around Kokoa." Ahakon warned before he walked after Ran. Yukari showed a bit of worry then nodded.

"But thank you for helping keep Arial and Complica safe." she said with a small smile. Sun nodded with a slight smile then walked towards Ceal's vehicle with Complica. Razico and Ruby glanced to each other then walked over to their ride with Ran and the two young casters. Gin looked towards Ceal's ride then over to see Arial glaring at Kokoa still.

"If she goes near Sun again she'll regret it." Arial said through bared teeth. Gin looked down to his girlfriend worriedly then walked towards the SUV as well. As he did Kou flew down from the sky and landed on Kokoa's chest, the bat looking at his mistress with worry as she was out cold still. Fang Fang rubbed the back of his head then looked to Rason.

"I'm sorry about your friend. I do hope you get her back safely." He said gently. Rason nodded then started walking towards a car with Kurumu.

"So do I." the angel said softly. Gabriel looked down with worry then walked after his comrade.

"We'll get her back Rason, I promise." he said softly. Fang Fang nodded then looked to Moka, the vampire looking over at the blue sea. The girl sighed and looked over to him with a gentle gaze.

"Thank you for your hospitality Fang Fang." she said softly before walking towards a car. Fang Fang nodded and followed after her.

"Of course my dear." he said as he walked over and got into the car with Kurumu and the two angels. Moka got into the backseat of another car and looked up at the sky through her window, the vampire worried about Luna's fate. Render and Leon walked towards their car with Apoch and Astreal, the four getting into their vehicle as well.

Dark looked down to Arial with a curious eye.

"Arial, why did you come down to this world?" he asked gently. The snow angel looked up at him with a timid smile.

"I wanted to be with you again, I couldn't wait until you came up to heaven." she said softly. He smiled a bit and kneeled down to face her.

"As much as I would have wanted to see you again, I don't want you in danger like this." he said gently. Arial hugged him tightly as her wings fluttered a bit.

"Nothing could keep me from you Dark, nothing at all. I'm not afraid, I have you with me." she said softly. Dark smiled a bit and held the girl as Mizore watched them with a worried expression. Dark stood up as Arial hugged him around his waist.

"Let's go, I'll make sure to keep you safe." he said with a confident tone. Arial nodded eagerly as she held onto his hand.

"Whatever you say Dark." She said softly. Dark nodded then looked to Mizore.

"Mizore? Is something wrong?" he asked as he saw the snow girl's expression. She jumped a bit then shook her head.

"No, nothing. It's just been a rough day. I'm fine, really." she said with a soft smile. He smiled briefly and nodded, then started walking toward the car with Arial following behind him, the girl holding his hand tightly as she smiled at her demon. As they walked towards the car Arial swung her other hand back, the girl launching an ice shard right towards Mizore's heart. The snow girl jumped to the side with surprise as the shard flew past her. She looked at Arial with wide eyes as the snow angel glanced back to her with a cold glare. From their car Render and Leon were staring with wide eyes along with Apoch and Astreal.

"Did you see that?" Leon asked cautiously.

"Oh my, Ms. Mizore." Apoch said worriedly.

Mizore looked around worriedly then slowly followed after Dark and Arial, the snow girl watching the snow angel closely. Dark and Arial got into the front seats of the car while Mizore sat down next to Moka, the snow girl looking ahead at Arial with a bit of fear. Moka glanced to her then ahead as Dark started the car up again. Arial glanced back to Mizore with cold eyes and a quiet growl then looked ahead again. Moka looked to Mizore with worry, the snow girl glancing to her then back ahead at the snow angel that clearly had it out for her life.

The five vehicles then drove off with Fang Fang leading the way towards his family's estate. As they traveled down the empty road the group thought about everything that they had learned.

"Luna…" Kurumu said looking up at the sky with worried eyes.

"All this time…she's been suffering and we didn't even know." Rason said with remorse.

"I thought she would just be kept in the darkness, is that not true?" Fang Fang asked looking to them. They shook their heads with remorse.

"I'm afraid her fate…is a bit more dire." Gabriel said worriedly. Fang Fang looked ahead with worry from that.

"Oh dear." he said quietly. Gabriel nodded then looked out the window at the passing sky.

"Gabriel, get back to heaven and tell the elders-" Rason said before Gabriel shook his head.

"I'm not leaving Rason, not until I find a way to get Arial and Complica back into heaven, and not until Luna is out of the darkness." he said firmly. Rason and Kurumu looked ahead at him as the angel looked down with closed eyes.

"I've already spilled human blood Rason, I belong down here with you more than I do up in heaven right now." he said with a bit of remorse.

"You killed a human?" Rason said with a bit of wonder. Gabriel nodded then looked ahead with a focused expression.

"I'll do whatever it takes to save her. I won't let Luna be taken away like this." he said as he clenched his fists slightly. He didn't care anymore if the elders saw him as a fallen angel, his right to be a guardian angel didn't matter. All he wanted was to save the chronofly from the darkness, something that he would do anything to achieve.

Behind them Ceal was driving his SUV with Complica sitting next to him, the girl looking down with worry. Sitting behind them Gin was holding Kokoa in his arms still while Sun was sitting next to him. The siren glanced to the vampire then to Gin with a raised eyebrow. Gin glanced to her as the siren wrote down something and showed him.

I'm sorry, that I didn't say those words back to you then. I just wasn't ready, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life.

He nodded and looked down to the sleeping girl in his arms.

"It's alright, I don't hate you for that. Maybe I was too eager to say it back then. It doesn't matter anymore." He said gently. He looked back to seeing Sun showing him something else on her pad.

It does matter Gin. I've been thinking about you ever since I left the academy.

He looked at her curiously as the siren nodded with a gentle smile, the girl then writing down something else for him to see.

You remember how you owed me that favor, for me helping get rid of those pictures you took of Ms. Nekonome in the school's changing room?

Gin jumped a bit then smiled nervously.

"Oh yeah…still remember that do you?" he asked as Kokoa stirred a bit. Sun nodded with a smirk and wrote down something else.

Very clearly yes. Well anyway I want to call in that favor now.

Gin looked at her curiously as she wrote down something else, the girl then showing it to him with a coy smile.

I want us to have a little quality time together. Just the two of us, to discuss things.

Gin looked at the pad worriedly then down to his girlfriend, the redheaded vampire slowly opening her eyes.

"Gin?" she asked softly. She shot up and looked around quickly, then over to see Sun looking at her carefully.

"You!" Kokoa yelled out.

"Sit down vampire." Ceal said while looking ahead still. Complica looked back to Kokoa with worry as the vampire growled loudly. Sun looked at her with a dull expression then wrote down something else to show the vampire.

Do you have to yell at everyone?

"You bitch, I'll kill you!" Kokoa yelled as she tried to lunge towards the siren, the girl being caught and held back by Gin.

"Hold it Kokoa, calm down, she's not doing anything wrong!" he cried out.

"She kissed you! You bitch, you think you can just come back into his life and expect him to come running back to you? You turned him away, you missed your chance! He's mine now!" Kokoa yelled out as she growled loudly at the siren.

"I said sit down vampire." Ceal said sternly. Kokoa was yanked down as black tentacles crept up from the floor and grabbed hold of her legs. The vampire looked to them with surprise then ahead as Sun smirked a bit.

"I need her alive to find this dark being responsible for this mess. Until that time comes keep your petty jealousy to yourself." the mage said without a care.

"Petty jealousy?" Kokoa yelled out.

"I'm only going to say this once vampire, keep quiet back there or else I'll throw you out." Ceal said glancing to the vampire in the rearview mirror. Kokoa growled with frustration then glared at Sun, the siren looking at her with a solemn glance. Complica looked at Sun worriedly then back ahead. Kokoa bared her teeth as she felt her anger rising, the girl then grabbing hold of Gin's arm while glaring at the siren.

"He's mine." she hissed. Kou perched himself on her shoulder and glared at the siren as well. Sun looked at the vampire then to Gin, the boy watching his fiery girlfriend with a bit of worry. He then looked down as he thought about something.

_The first time I have girls fighting over me, and I'm likely to be killed in the crossfire._

In the SUV behind them Razico was driving with Ruby sitting next to him. Sitting behind them Ran was seated between Ahakon and Yukari, the siren looking down with worry.

"It couldn't have been her, Rin couldn't have been that monster." she said worriedly.

"It had to have been another siren, Rin's too kind-hearted to be a mass murderer." Ahakon reasoned.

"But the description of her hair color and headphones, and her age. It sounds just like her, except for the eyes." Ruby said while looking down in thought.

"It couldn't have been Rin, there's just no way." Ran said shaking her head. She whimpered and closed her eyes as a tear leaked out. Ahakon held her hand gently as Yukari looked at the siren with a bit of remorse.

"It'll be alright Ran, we'll find a way back into our world then we'll get this sorted out. I'm sure Rin had nothing to do with what happened to your village, Sun must have just seen somebody that looks like her." Ahakon said reassuringly. Ran trembled then grabbed Ahakon and held him close.

"I don't know what I would do without you Ahakon, thank you so much." she sobbed as she held the mage close, with his face being buried in her chest once again. Yukari looked at them with disbelief then face palmed as Ahakon flailed about in the siren's embrace.

"Ran…" Yukari growled as she tried to refrain from using her magic to kill the siren.

Driving behind them Leon and his group were talking about something that had them a bit concerned.

"So what do you think the odds are Arial will slice Mizore's throat tonight when she's asleep?" Leon asked flatly.

"I'd say pretty good, although she might go postal on her body before the poor girl finally dies." Render said with a shrug.

"What do we do, Ms. Arial is going to kill Ms. Mizore over Dark." Apoch said worriedly. She blinked then glanced to Render as he was looking at her curiously.

"Um…I mean _Mr. _Dark." She said nervously. Render chuckled and shook his head.

"It's fine Apoch, don't worry about it. So, that's the guy that…marked your old heart huh?" he said looking down to Apoch's chest. The girl nodded and looked down as well.

"Yes, I was originally marked to be his wife in my own timeline, but…well, the Dark that did died then. I was fortunate to be saved by Ms. Luna and brought here, and allowed a chance to live a new life." she said softly. She blinked then looked back to seeing Render just staring at her chest with a curious expression.

"Render? What…are you staring at?" she asked with a small blush. Render leaned back in thought then looked to Leon with a smile.

"Ha, told you man. They're not exactly alike, Apoch's are a bit bigger." he said proudly.

The car swerved a bit as Leon jumped with surprise while Astreal looked back to Render with wide eyes. Apoch however was blushing brightly and looking away with a hand to her cheek.

"What?" Leon cried out looking back to Render through the rearview mirror.

"You pervert!" Astreal cried out covering her chest with her arms. Render held up his arms defensively with a nervous smile.

"Hey, it's just an observation." he said nervously. Astreal looked at him with frustration and a slight blush then over to Apoch, the raven haired witch looking down at her breasts with a curious eye.

_Are they really? Is that good?_

Driving behind them Dark was watching as the car in front of him swerved a bit on the road.

"Are they ok?" Moka asked curiously.

They watched as the car ahead of them swerved around a bit more, the tires squealing as the vehicle shook around a bit.

"What are they doing?" Mizore asked looking at the car closely.

Inside the other car Leon was driving with one hand while having his other arm behind the seat holding Render in a headlock.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't say something like that, and like hell they're bigger than Astreal's!" Leon yelled out as he tried to keep his car steady. Render was coughing and grabbing his friend's arm while Apoch was trying to free him from the mimic mage's grip.

"Let him go, he was just being honest." Apoch pleaded.

"No he wasn't, we're the same size!" Astreal yelled out while holding an arm over her chest still.

"Actually, Apoch's are a bit bigger, but I didn't mean any offense by it. Really." Render coughed out with a weak smile.

"No they're not!" Astreal yelled as she started hitting the boy on the head with one of her fists while Apoch tried to pull the boy free still.

"They're twins Render, get it through your head! They're physically the exact same!" Leon yelled out. Render coughed out and shook his head.

"But Apoch-"

"Is the exact same as me!" Astreal yelled as she hit him in the face again.

Dark's group watched as the car eventually stopped swerving around then continued to drive straight behind the others.

"What was that about?" Moka asked looking to Mizore, the snow maiden shrugging in response.

In the car in front of them Leon was driving ahead with a dull expression while Astreal was looking down with embarrassment, the girl looking at her breasts with concern. Behind them Render was leaning back in his seat with a few lumps on his head, the boy in a daze as he coughed a bit. Apoch was next to him holding onto his arm, the girl blushing still while smiling timidly.

"Anything else you'd like to say?" Leon said glancing back to his friend. Render paused for a moment then nodded.

"Yeah, I could go for a caramel frappe…that would be nice." he said wearily.

Dark's group glanced to each other then looked back ahead as the car in front of them seemed to be driving properly now.

"Wonder what that was about." Moka said curiously.

"They seem alright now." Dark said with a shrug. Arial smiled gently and looked at him with loving eyes, the girl rolling her lollipop around in her mouth a bit as she stared at her demon. Mizore looked at the snow angel worriedly, the snow girl knowing that if it wasn't for Dark being in the same car the temperamental angel would likely be splattering her blood all over the windows.

"What do we do now? We're trapped here in the human world." Moka said worriedly while looking down.

"We try to find a way back, and we hope that Sun was mistaken about Rin." Dark said while looking out at the night sky. Arial looked at him curiously and shook her head a bit.

"I don't think she would lie Dark, she's a good person." she said softly. Dark nodded then glanced to her.

"Then let's just hope she saw a different siren, otherwise we're going to have another problem waiting for us back in the monster world." he said before looking ahead at the road again. Moka looked back out the window up at the night sky, the vampire now worried about Falla and Kyouko being alone with Rin back at the academy.

The five vehicles drove down the road towards a possible safe refuge for them, the group now being hunted down in the human world by the HDA. They all knew the danger Arial and Complica were in while outside of the heavenly realm, they all knew that Luna had been captured by the mysterious monster and was being held prisoner in the dark world, they all knew that they were trapped in a world that saw them as evil monsters once again.

And they all knew that their nightmare was far from over.


	12. Retribution

Driving down a darkened road near the seaside a lone car was heading away from a nearby human city. The dark blue car raced along at high speed as the blue sea was next to the road under the moonlight. Inside the car Felucia was looking ahead with worried eyes, the girl driving the vehicle as fast as she could. The paneling under the steering wheel was broken open after the demon had hotwired the first car she came across. She glanced next to her side at Luna, the girl still unresponsive to everything around her. Felucia had wrapped the chronofly in blanket she found in the truck of the car and rested her in the front seat, the demon showing great concern for her friend as the girl's eyes wouldn't focus and she hadn't made a sound since her rescue from the dark world.

"Just hang on Luna, we're going to see the others real soon. They'll help you, I promise." Felucia said looking back ahead. She growled and hit the steering wheel with her fist in frustration.

"I can't believe that fucker used you like that, Dark's going to fucking tear him apart for this!" she yelled out as she drove the car down the darkened road.

The car headed along the road to a nearby tunnel up by a small hill, the vehicle racing towards it as Felucia looked up at the sky.

"When my friends hear about this, they'll be after you, mark my words." she said with hatred. The car raced into the tunnel with its headlights shining ahead, the vehicle roaring through the empty passageway as Felucia looked around quickly.

"What the…hey, isn't this…" she said as the car raced through the tunnel. After a while the vehicle sped out of the other end, the demon then slamming on the brakes and stopping in the middle of the road.

"What the fuck? We're still here?" she said looking around quickly. She growled then turned the car around, the girl then racing back into the tunnel. A while later the vehicle roared out of the other end of the passageway, with the car again stopping with a loud screech.

"What is this? Why are we still here?" Felucia yelled out. She growled with frustration and looked around to seeing that they were still in the human world on the same street as before.

"No…no no no, this isn't happening, not now." she said looking back to Luna. The chronofly's gaze was looking down a bit as her head rested against the window. Felucia looked at her worriedly then to the glowing band of light on her wrist.

"I don't have time for this." she said worriedly before looking around quickly, the girl showing a nervous expression from the thought of being unable to return to the monster world. She hit her fists on the wheel with a yell and looked down with frustration. After a pause she turned the car back around and raced through the tunnel, the girl once again driving out the other side at high speed.

_Dammit, I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but I need to get Luna help right now!_

She looked back to her comrade, the chronofly still seeming to be in a state of shock after her ordeal.

_Luna…my god, what did they do to you?_

Felucia growled a bit then looked ahead at the road.

"Just hang on Luna, I still have a few old contacts in this world, somebody will help us get you home." she said with frustration as the car raced down the road under the night sky above.

* * *

Under the same night sky five vehicles were driving down a road next to the seaside, the large group of monsters heading towards possible refuge nearby from the human authorities. The vehicles drove down the road for a long while before coming up into a human city near a large hillside. As the group of cars continued through the streets of the human city some concerns were being voiced.

"What are we doing here? I thought we were going away from the humans, not into another one of their cities." Moka said looking around outside.

"How are we going to hide here? There are humans everywhere." Mizore said looking around as the five cars passed a few other vehicles and people walking down the streets of the city. There were small houses and shops set up around the edge of the city with larger buildings towards the center, with streetlamps lighting up the roads as humans were going about their usual nightlife.

"Why is Fang Fang taking us here? There are humans all around us." Yukari said worriedly as she looked outside her window. Ran trembled a bit and shook her head.

"This isn't good, we can't hide here, they'll find us for sure." she said worriedly.

Complica looked around worriedly then back to Ceal.

"Ceal…what are we doing here? I thought we were going to hide from the humans." she said softly.

"Relax, we're not in danger." the mage said simply while driving behind the others.

"Not in danger? There are humans all around us, how are we not in danger here?" Kokoa asked looking out the windows with worry. Ceal glanced back to her in the rearview mirror then forward again.

"I meant she and I are not in danger vampire. Worse comes to worse I'll keep her safe from the humans. You however are on your own." he said simply. Kokoa looked at him with a bit of surprise as Gin and Sun glanced to each other worriedly.

In the lead car Fang Fang was driving with a calm expression while his passengers were looking around with wide eyes.

"What are you doing taking us into a human city? We're trying to _avoid_ being near the humans, remember?" Kurumu said looking to the yasha with disbelief. The boy glanced to her in the rearview mirror and nodded.

"Yes miss, and we will be safe once we get to my family's estate, it's just outside the city limits. We merely have to pass through here, but don't worry, there's nothing suspicious about us just driving through like this." he said calmly. Gabriel and Rason looked to each other then back around with worry as the group continued through the streets.

"Your family lives right next to a human city?" Rason asked cautiously.

"Why yes, we do a lot of business with both the human world and monster world." Fang Fang said with a smile.

"What kind of business is that exactly?" Kurumu asked.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that." Fang Fang said with a shrug.

"That seems to be all we ever get out of him." Gabriel commented.

"Yes, it's not doing wonders to calm my concerns about this." Rason said dryly as he looked around at the passing city. Fang Fang led the other vehicles through the city limits and towards the large hillside next to the area, with the group seeing a large lush forest surrounding the hill. They drove through a road into the woods that was lit up by street lamps along the way, with the group looking around curiously as they headed towards the yasha's home. After a while the group of monsters emerged from the woods, with all of them looking ahead with wonder.

"Welcome to my home." Fang Fang said with a hint of pride in his voice. Up ahead was a large Chinese villa with smooth stoned walls around the expansive compound. A few roofs were seen above the large walls while dozens of torches were lit along the top of the barrier. A large structure was seen towards the back of the villa with a multiple stories that had a few windows lit as well with a soft glow. Off to the right side of the villa was a large pond that had an elegant bridge across it, while on the left side of the villa there were several large semi-trucks with their trailers parked under a simple roofing structure that had a sloped wooden shingle top.

"Wow." Ahakon said with wide eyes.

"Wow is right, is this kid rich or something?" Ruby said looking to Razico. The warlock just shrugged as the vehicles drove up towards the large main gate. It was a larger metal barrier that had emblemized flames in front of it. As they came to a stop several men were seen coming from a small metal door off to the side of the main gate, all of them wearing black shoes, black dress pants and shirts with white undershirts, black ties, and sunglasses. They also had handguns and SMG's in their hands as they watched the five vehicles park off to the side of the main gate.

"Fantastic, he leads us up to a heavily armed human villa, this was a great plan." Render said flatly as the other passengers looked at the armed men with caution.

From one of the cars Fang Fang stepped out and waved to the guards.

"Hello, it's me, Fang Fang. I have returned." he called out. Two men walked up and looked closely at the yasha, then jumped a bit.

"Master Fang Fang, you've returned. We thought you were taken in by the HDA." one of them said with a smile. The yasha chuckled and walked up to them.

"I was, however I was liberated by a group of monsters. I'm pretty lucky to have met them when I did, otherwise I might still be in that damned HDA cell or worse." he said with a calm smile. He looked back to the vehicles then to the guards.

"I've brought them back here to rest after a daring rescue, please open the gates and let them in. I'm afraid they've been having a very tiring day." he said with a smile.

"Yes, of course." a guard said as he walked back towards the small door. Fang Fang nodded then walked back to the car and got in with the passengers staring at him with curious eyes.

"You live here?" Kurumu said with wonder. The boy chuckled nodded a bit.

"Well yes, my family does own a few estates around the world, but I spend most of my time here. I did grow up here as a little boy, so it's more of my actual home compared to the others." he said simply. The three passengers looked to each other with wonder then back ahead as the large metal gate started to rise up through the barrier and up over the top. Fang Fang drove in with the others following after, the five vehicles driving into a large courtyard with small gardens on both sides and a stone brick pathway leading into the villa up ahead. There were a few small buildings and structures with the larger one seen down the path towards the back of the estate. There were dozens of armed guards walking around while several black and white limos and SUVs were parked off to the side of the entrance courtyard.

"Wow, this guy must be loaded." Render said looking around.

"Well his father was able to hire a dragon slayer, looks like they're pretty well off." Leon said in agreement. Apoch and Astreal just continued to look around with wonder at the very large estate of the yasha.

The vehicles pulled off to the side of the courtyard as a group of guards walked up to them. Fang Fang and his passengers got out of their car and walked in front of the vehicle, with a few of the guards jumping a bit from seeing Rason's wings.

"Wha…what is he? Is he…" one of them said pointing to him. Fang Fang nodded and gestured to Rason and Gabriel.

"Believe it or not, these are two angels from heaven gentleman, please make sure they feel comfortable here. They are on assignment from above with a very important task, so please give them whatever they need while staying here." he said casually. Rason glanced to his wings then back to the guards as Gabriel waved a bit. Kurumu continued to look around with wonder as the large gate started to close behind them. From another vehicle Dark, Arial, Moka, and Mizore got out and walked up to the others, with Arial holding onto Dark's hand while looking around curiously. Fang Fang waved to Arial then looked to the guards.

"That young one is an angel from above as well, treat her with the utmost care and make sure you keep fire away from her at all times, is that understood?" he said in a commanding tone. The men nodded and stood at attention.

"Yes master Fang Fang." they said together.

"Master Fang Fang?" Moka said looking to the yasha with wonder. The boy chuckled and shrugged a bit.

"You can just call me by my name, I'm not much for formal titles anyway." he said casually. Dark and Mizore glanced to each other then looked around curiously as Arial gazed around at the large estate.

From an SUV another group got out and walked over to the others, with Razico and Ruby looking around curiously while Ahakon, Yukari, and Ran looked to Fang Fang with wonder.

"This is your home? Really?" Ahakon said looking around with wide eyes. The yasha nodded and gestured around.

"Yes, and you're all welcome to stay here as long as you like, heroes of Alucard." he said graciously.

"What? Heroes of Alucard?" the guards said in shock looking to the group. Fang Fang nodded and gestured to the group with a proud smile.

"Yes, these are indeed the heroes of that day. Do not fear, they are indeed the peacekeepers that their stories told of; the HDA had blamed another monster attack on them with their ignorance. It was by greatest luck that they turned out to be my saviors today, so please make them feel welcome." he said with a slight bow. The guards jumped a bit then bowed at the group, which everybody was glancing to each other curiously.

"I gotta say, this is some…place to lay low." Razico said with a nod.

"I'll say, I might be able to get a nice bath tonight after all." Ruby said softly, the witch eager to have a proper bath after her long duration in Paradise and through her ordeal in the human world.

From another car Render and Leon got out along with Apoch and Astreal, the four walking over to the others while looking around with wonder.

"Holy crap man, this is your place?" Render said looking to Fang Fang. The yasha nodded and smiled at the boy.

"Yes, please, make yourselves at home while you stay here." he said politely.

"This is quite a large estate, what is it your family does anyway?" Leon asked.

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that." Fang Fang said with a slight smile.

"Just what exactly does that entail, I mean look at this place." Kurumu said looking around with wonder.

"Father has some summer homes like this around the monster world, is your father a dark lord?" Moka asked curiously. Fang Fang smiled nervously and shook his head.

"No no, nothing like that my dear." he said before glancing away.

"Then just what does your family do to afford living in place like this and hiring a dragon slayer?" Dark asked curiously. Fang Fang hesitated and smiled worriedly at them.

"Well…" he said slowly.

"Go on yasha, explain to them what your family does in this world." Ceal's voice said. The group looked over as the guards jumped in surprise to seeing Ceal walking towards them with Complica holding onto his hand. Behind them Gin, Kokoa, and Sun were looking around at the villa with wonder before back to the catalyst mage.

"Selling weapons, magic, artifacts, and having connections with most of the lower street gangs and low rate mobs in the area. Of course that's probably just a small part of your family's income, am I right?" Ceal said staring at the yasha with cold eyes. The group looked to Fang Fang with surprise as the nearby guards aimed their guns at the catalyst mage.

"It's Ceal Erres! He's returned!" a guard yelled out. Fang Fang jumped a bit then waved his hands around quickly.

"No, don't shoot! He's a guest here too! Stand down now, stand down!" he called out. The guards looked to him with surprise then back to Ceal as the mage glared at them. Complica held onto his hand and shook her head worriedly.

"Don't hurt him, he helped everybody today." she said urgently. Fang Fang looked around nervously then back to Ceal.

"So wait, you're…" Render said looking to Fang Fang. The yasha smiled and nodded while rubbing the back of his head.

"A member of a major Chinese mafia in this region, or rather the son of the leader." Ceal said simply. The group stared at the yasha with surprise as the boy laughed weakly.

"I guess…you could put it that way." he said nervously.

"What is he doing here master Fang Fang?" a guard asked with anger as the men kept their guns at the ready. Fang Fang shook his head and gestured to them to lower their weapons.

"I said for all of you to stand down, he is one of those responsible for my safe return, and is a welcome guest here as well." he said firmly.

"A guest? He's not allowed on these grounds after what he did, your father would never permit it." a guard said shaking his head.

"Well _I'm_ permitting it. I'll deal with my father if he has a problem with that, in the meantime you will treat this one as a guest here as well, that's an order." Fang Fang said sternly. The guards looked to each other then slowly lowered their weapons.

"You're part of the Chinese mafia?" Moka said with wonder at Fang Fang. The yasha smiled weakly and nodded.

"Yes, that is correct miss." he said gently. He looked around to everybody staring at him then sighed a bit.

"I'll be happy to answer any of your questions that I'm sure you're eager to ask, but first how about we go inside and have a nice warm meal. My guards will show you all to your rooms while you're staying here, and my tailors will be happy to provide you with more comfortable clothing if you prefer." he said gesturing towards the villa.

"Wow, that's very nice of you Fang Fang." Ruby said with a smile.

"Yeah, a warm meal sounds great right about now." Ahakon said with a nod.

"Hold it yasha." Ceal said with narrowed eyes. Fang Fang jumped a bit and looked to him nervously as the catalyst mage raised an eyebrow.

"There's still the matter of my payment." he said firmly.

"Payment?" a guard said with discontent. Fang Fang raised a hand to silence the guards then nodded slowly.

"I'll be happy to pay you the full amount we agreed to, but for now please allow me to offer you all lodgings and a meal, I'm sure you're all hungry after a tiring day." he said glancing to the others.

"Either you offer the agreed amount now or you'll pay with your blood." Ceal said coldly. The guards nearby aimed their guns at him before Fang Fang waved his hands around quickly.

"I said stand down! Stand down, that means don't fire!" he called out. The group looked at Fang Fang curiously then to Ceal as the boy glared at the yasha. Slowly the guards lowered their guns as Complica looked from them to Ceal's necro hand that had a black hue slowly fading from it. Fang Fang sighed and nodded then smiled a bit at the mage.

"Very well, I will honor our agreement, both on behalf of my father and myself." he said calmly. He looked to a guard and snapped his fingers.

"Bring forth 9000 gold bars at once, I'll be paying off the debt to Ceal Erres on behalf of my family as well as a fair price for today's hardships." he said firmly. The guards looked at him with surprise as the group looked at Ceal curiously.

"What's he going to do with it here? Take it to a bank then come back here?" Yukari asked puzzled.

"9000 gold bars isn't exactly walking around money, how's he going to take it out of this place?" Moka wondered curiously.

"I'm not sure, but it's his money so it's his call." Razico said with a shrug. Complica nodded then looked to Fang Fang while holding onto Ceal's hand.

"But master Fang Fang, 9000 gold bars? Your father would never allow this, we can't-" a guard said before Fang Fang clenched his fists in frustration.

"Just do it! Bring it out of my own savings if you must, I will not go back on our word with a dragon slayer!" he yelled out at the guard. The man nodded then took off as Fang Fang sighed.

"I can just tell how father will react to this, though I'm not sure which ceremonial blade he will choose to behead me with. Oh well, better dying by him than by a dragon." he said with a shrug. He glanced back to Ceal and smiled a bit.

"You're more than welcome to your money Ceal, but what are you going to do with it? And right now no less." he asked. Ceal glanced to him then looked around casually at the villa as all eyes were on him. Fang Fang looked at him curiously then smiled a bit at the others.

"Well, while we wait for my guard to return with his payment, I suppose you have a few questions to ask." he said with a small smile.

"Depends, what's your definition of 'a few'?" Dark asked with a raised eyebrow. Fang Fang nodded and rubbed the back of his head a bit.

"I suppose I see what you mean. Well, let's just start with the most prominent ones you may have for me." he said with a slight smile.

"So are you really a criminal?" Yukari asked curiously. Fang Fang jumped a bit and shook his head.

"No no no, not at all young miss. Yes, my family does deal with…less than reputable humans and monsters with our work, but all our dealings are perfectly legal, both in this world and the monster world. We may run close to that line, but we never cross it, we do have some pride you know." he said with a chuckle.

"So why did the HDA lock you up then?" Leon asked curiously.

"I'm afraid it was because I'm a monster. I was registered with the HDA, seeing as how I wanted to be able to move freely between countries without incident, and those that were registered with them were immediately arrested and taken in when things started to go bad. I was taken straight off the street to their command center to be held in contempt merely for being a monster in this world." Fang Fang said with remorse.

"So you being in the mafia had nothing to do with it?" Render asked curiously. Fang Fang paused then smiled weakly.

"Well, nothing that I would imagine would warrant an execution." he said with a small laugh. The group glanced to each other then back to him as the boy looked down to the ground with worry.

"But they know you're a monster, they'll come here looking for you won't they? How is this a safe place to be?" Ran said looking around worriedly. Fang Fang looked to her and smiled.

"Because my dear, I may have been registered with the HDA, but all my paperwork listed my home being in China, not here in Japan. This estate is owned by my father, who my paperwork does not refer to at all as I listed my family being deceased. I may have been registered with the HDA, but being raised in the mafia did teach me some things about keeping my identity and assets hidden from view. As far as the human government is concerned this villa is owned by a rich businessman, which is technically true, and I was a simple yasha from the monster world who lived in China." he said with a shrug. Ran nodded a bit then glanced to Ahakon, the mage looking at the yasha curiously.

"Where is your father anyway?" he asked. Fang Fang smiled a bit and looked off over to the horizon.

"He's away on business outside of the country for the time being. However with the HDA now declaring war I'm sure he'll be seeking refuge and keeping out of sight until this is cleared up. I'll trust he'll be safe for now." he said with a nod. He paused then glanced to Ceal, the mage looking off to the side with a dull expression.

"Pity, I would have looked forward to meeting him again." Ceal said flatly. Complica looked up at him and tugged his hand gently to get his attention.

"What are you going to do with your money Ceal? That's an awful lot of gold." she asked softly. He glanced down to her then looked away again without saying a word.

"I'm rather curious myself, 9000 gold bars…none of our vehicles will carry that without breaking down. Why are you asking for it now?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Retribution." Ceal said simply.

"But he's agreed to give you your money whenever you want, why take it now? Where are you going to put it, we're trapped here anyway, it's not like you can take it back to your home in the monster world." Kurumu said curiously. Again the mage didn't say a word and continued to look around the villa carefully as everybody watched him with a curious eye.

After a long wait the front gate opened and in drove a large semi truck with a cargo trailer hooked to it. It had several wheels under it as the vehicle pulled to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. A guard stepped out and walked over to Fang Fang then stood before him with a slight bow.

"Here you are, 9000 gold bars from your own personal account master Fang Fang. I must say however, I don't believe your father will approve of this in the slightest." he said cautiously.

"I know, but a deal is a deal. Thank you." Fang Fang said with a nod before looking at the large trailer.

_There goes my shopping money for the summer._

"Alright then Ceal, here you are, just as we agreed on. Does this make amends for what my family did in the past?" he asked looking to Ceal. The catalyst stepped towards the truck as Complica stood back and watched with wonder. The boy held out his necro hand as the group watched him curiously, the mage focusing his magic as his hand glowed a black hue. From under the large truck black rifts appeared with dark tentacles reaching up and around the vehicle.

"What is he doing?" Gin asked as the group saw the necro demon from below slowly grabbing onto the truck. From under the vehicle the dark rifts started to grow and expand under it, with the image of the demon's large mouth with teeth slowly becoming visible. Fang Fang looked at the sight with wonder as all the nearby guards watched cautiously. Suddenly the dark limbs started to crush down and ensnare the truck, the trailer bending down with a crunching sound while the glass from the front shattered. The vehicle rumbled a bit before crushing downwards and slowly sifting down through the large rift.

"What's he doing?" Moka asked with surprise as the group saw the dark tentacles pulling the large truck down into the mouth of the necro demon. Complica watched with awe as the truck screeched and crushed inward before sliding down into the rift. A ghastly groaning sound was heard as the limbs pulled the truck down into the necro demon's mouth. Fang Fang watched with shock as the truck was devoured by the demon, with the last bits of the vehicle sifting down into the rift before the limbs receded down into the darkness. The rifts then slowly vanished as Ceal lowered his hand.

"What…what the hell?" Razico said as the group looked to Ceal.

"You…fed the gold to your pet." Leon said with surprise.

"What, why? Why did you do that?" Render asked looking back to where the truck carrying a fortune was devoured by the necro demon.

"I merely wanted him to pay for what I've done, gold doesn't matter to me." Ceal said looking back to Fang Fang. The yasha looked at him with a stunned expression then over to where the gold had vanished.

"But…why…" he asked slowly.

"I told you, I wanted you to pay for what you did. Taking away 9000 gold bars from you is all I wanted, I never had any intention on keeping your money." Ceal said without a hint of interest.

"You…you just destroyed 9000 gold bars…just for the hell of it?" Ahakon said with shock. Ceal glanced to him then looked back to Fang Fang with a smirk.

"No, I destroyed 9000 gold bars because they didn't deserve having it at all." he said simply. Fang Fang looked at the spot where the demon had devoured his gold then downward. Ceal chuckled a bit and looked back to where his demon had pulled the truck down into.

"Gold doesn't matter to me, my family has all the money we need in life. However gold does matter to you yasha, as it does to so many. Taking away your money and seeing your grief is sufficient payment for your father's ignorance." he said casually. The group looked at him with surprise then over to where 9000 gold bars were destroyed right in front of them.

"He…he just threw away 9000 gold bars…like it was nothing." Render said in disbelief.

"How could you just throw that gold away like that?" Razico said grabbing his hair. Ceal glanced to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I just said gold doesn't matter to me hunter, I only wanted retribution from this yasha. His loss will do nicely." he said before looking back ahead. Complica looked at the mage with wonder as she held onto his hand, the boy seeming not to care at all about destroying a large amount of gold.

"I…I don't know what to say about this." Moka said with a stunned expression.

"I've never seen anyone throw so much money away, just like that." Kokoa said with shock. Sun just stared at the spot where the necro demon devoured the large amount of gold then looked over to Ceal with wonder.

_Just how much money does his family have anyway?_

Fang Fang sighed then looked to Ceal with a bit of a saddened expression.

"I suppose…this makes us even then?" he asked. Ceal glanced to him then towards the larger building near the back of the estate, the boy then simply nodding once. Fang Fang smiled a bit then glanced to the others.

"Well…anyway, now that that's settled, let's head inside and rest. You've all had a long day, and I imagine tomorrow may be a bit…difficult as well." he said with a bit of remorse. The group looked to him then to each other, all of them knowing that more trouble was looming ahead for them. Fang Fang nodded then snapped his fingers, his guards then snapping out of their stunned state, from having seen a necro demon destroy a truck full of gold, then stood at attention.

"Please escort them inside to the main dining hall, and have our cooks prepare a good meal for them. There is much to discuss about current events, but before then they've earned a reprieve." the yasha said calmly.

"Yes sir." the guards said before walking off towards the main building. Fang Fang waved the group over then walked off as well, with the group then following him while looking around at the large estate curiously. For now it appeared they would be safe in the human world, which would give them time to figure out what their next move was regarding so much that had gone wrong in their lives.

* * *

"Help me!" Kyouko cried out, the girl running down a darkened street with smoke and flames flaring around her. The girl was dressed in her usual outfit while running as fast as she could down the damaged street. The sky above was covered with dark clouds as lightning crackled around through the air.

"Somebody, help me!" the girl yelled as she looked around franticly while running down the street. All the tall buildings around her were in ruin with flames flaring through the windows and large openings in the walls. The streets were covered with debris and scorch marks with nearby wreckages of cars were on fire. Kyouko ran down to an intersection and looked around quickly, the girl breathing heavily as she had a frightful expression.

"Tsukune! Falla! Somebody!" she cried out. She looked down one street and saw nothing but billowing smoke, then down another to see fires flaring around a pileup of cars. The girl whimpered and looked back to see a familiar face smiling at her wickedly.

"Where are you going?" Jovian asked with a cold look in her multicolored eyes. Kyouko looked at her with fright and backed up, the girl bumping into something then looking back to seeing another monster standing behind her.

"What's wrong? Are you scared of something?" Jacqueline said before grabbing the human's arms and holding her in place.

"No…you can't be here…you're dead! You're dead!" Kyouko cried out as she thrashed around in the witch's grip. Jovian giggled and walked up to her, the witch eyeing the girl's body with a cold eye.

"You're so cute when you scream Kyouko, you know you always were my favorite toy." she said before she grabbed Kyouko's shirt and tore it off, the girl screaming as her bra and chest were exposed.

"Aw sister, I thought I was your favorite." Jacqueline said as she pulled Kyouko down and held her on the ground by her shoulders, the girl screaming and kicking before Jovian grabbed her legs and held them back.

"You are too, but she's my favorite human toy." Jovian said as she tore off the human's denim skirt. Kyouko screamed as she tried to break free, the girl watching with wide eyes as the witches giggled while holding her down.

"No…let me go!" Kyouko cried out as the witches eyed her body with wicked smiles.

"My my Kyouko, you always were the screamer. I just love that about you, so let's see if I can't get you to scream louder for me." Jovian said licking her lips.

"Let me have some time with her too sister, she's such a lively one." Jacqueline said with a giggle. Jovian reached down towards Kyouko's panties, the human staring with fright and shaking her head.

"Somebody HELP!" she screamed at the top her lungs.

CRUNCH!

Jovian jerked back as a metallic blade pierced through her chest, the girl looking down with wide eyes of shock at the blade that appeared to be made of flesh and metal melded together. Kyouko and Jacqueline watched with surprise as Jovian was lifted up into the air by the protruding blade. She coughed out blood and twitched a bit before looking behind her, the girl's head then being cleaved across by another blade with a slick crunch.

"SISTER!" Jacqueline cried out as the dead witch's body dropped to the ground. Kyouko stared with wide eyes at the sight, the girl seeing a boy with grayish metallic looking wings standing there staring at Jacqueline with discontent. His dark green eyes glared at the evil witch, the boy dressed with white tennis shoes, black jeans, and a dark green t-shirt with a black denim vest that was left unzipped in the front.

"You…" Kyouko breathed out as the boy had his arms down to his sides, with both of them having metallic looking wraith blades extended out. Jacqueline growled loudly then stood up as she held out a hand to him.

"YOU BASTARD!" she screamed as she fired out her multicolored blast of magical energy. The projectile raced towards the boy before one of his wings swung over to shield him, the attack striking it and blasting off to the side with colorful flames and smoke. In a flash the boy darted forward and sliced off Jacqueline's hand, then her arm with his other blade, then spun around and sliced off her head with a clean cut. Kyouko stared with wide eyes as the evil witch dropped back dead and in pieces while the winged boy stood over her. He glanced down to her as his blades retracted, the girl blushing a bit as she laid there on the street.

"It's…you…" she said quietly. The boy then kneeled down and lifted the girl into his arms, the human looking at him with wonder as he stood up carrying her. He didn't say anything, just looked into her eyes as she was held close to him.

"Thank…you…" she said softly. After a moment she blinked then looked over to seeing a growing dark shroud creeping towards them from down the street, the black void howling with a ghostly moan as everything was engulfed by the shadow. Kyouko looked at the approaching darkness then to the boy who was looking ahead at the void with narrowed eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked softly. He glanced to her and smirked slightly, the girl feeling her heart beating faster as his eyes gazed into hers. He opened his mouth to speak and…

"AHHHH!" Rin screamed with fright, the siren's cry waking Kyouko who shot up with wide eyes and a jump. The human looked around quickly, the girl inside the siren's dorm room at the academy and dressed in simple white shorts and a t-shirt for the night. She and Falla had been asleep on the ground on sleeping mats, however both were wide awake now as Rin was pointing to them with a frightful expression while sitting up in her bed.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" Rin screamed as Kyouko and Falla looked back to her with surprise.

"Rin? What is wrong with you, it's us, Kyouko and Falla." Kyouko said with surprise.

"What's going on, why is she screaming?" Falla said looking to Rin with wide eyes. The siren pointed to both of them and shook her head.

"Who are you two?" she cried out. She blinked then tapped her headphones, the girl pausing for a moment then showing a worried expression.

"Oh…Kyouko, Falla. Sorry, I…blanked out again." she said with remorse. Falla blinked then groaned and dropped back down onto her pillow as Kyouko stared at Rin with disbelief.

"Seriously? You woke us up screaming all because your headphones glitched out again?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm sorry, I woke up from a dream and…I didn't remember you two right away. I'm sorry." Rin said with remorse.

"Thank god she's here to protect me, otherwise I don't know what I'd do." Falla muttered into her pillow. Kyouko sighed and laid back down on her pillow, the girl looking up at the ceiling with a blank gaze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you two like that." Rin said softly. Falla sighed then looked back up to her.

"It's fine Rin, just…go to sleep." she said laying back down again and closing her eyes. Rin nodded then looked to Kyouko.

"Sorry about that Kyouko." she said softly. Kyouko nodded as she kept looking up at the ceiling. The image of the winged boy coming to her rescue and holding her close was at the forefront of her mind, the girl unable to stop seeing his dark green eyes that gazed into hers. Rin looked at her worriedly as she lay back in her bed.

"Kyouko? Is something wrong?" she asked. Kyouko kept looking up at the ceiling with a deep gaze, the girl's mind fixated on something still.

"What was he?" she asked softly. Rin looked at her curiously as Falla merely glanced over to the human with one eye still closed.

"What was who?" Rin asked.

"That boy who stood up for me today, the one with the wings. What is he, who is he?" Kyouko asked softly.

"The one with Alucard's wings?" Falla asked looking over to her friend. Kyouko nodded then glanced to her.

"He said he was a 'hybrid', what kind of monster is that?" she asked. Falla looked at her with concern then up at the ceiling while lying down on her pillow.

"I'm not sure, I never heard of that type of monster before." she said thinking about the mysterious boy they saw earlier that night. Kyouko nodded and looked up with worried eyes.

"I had a dream about him. I was being chased by Jovian and Jacqueline…we were in a city that was in ruins." She said softly. Kyouko and Rin sat up and looked at the human curiously as she trembled a bit.

"They were going to rape me again…they had me trapped in the street and…they were going to rape me again. I couldn't get away, I couldn't escape from them no matter how far I tried to run." she whimpered.

"Kyouko…" Falla said softly. The human shook her head then looked over to her friend.

"But then he showed up. He came and…he killed them. He killed them like it was nothing at all. He saved me." she said with a slight smile. Falla smiled a bit at her friend, the human girl then looking up at the ceiling with worry.

"He saved me from them…then…a dark shadow started to cover everything nearby. It was…just a black void swallowing up everything in its path." she said softly. Falla and Rin looked at her with concern as the human showed a cautious expression.

"It was coming right for us…but he wasn't running away. He was staring at it…like he was going to fight it. He didn't show any fear, he just stood his ground." she said softly.

"A dark shadow?" Rin asked worriedly. Kyouko nodded then looked over to her.

"Yeah, it…just covered everything, like a pitch black cloud." she said curiously. Rin trembled and hid under her blanket.

"I don't like your dream. I hate the dark, I hate it." she whimpered.

"Sounds like you were just having a nightmare Kyouko." Falla said rubbing one of her eyes as she was still tired.

"It started out like that…but…when he held me in his arms, I wasn't scared. Even with the darkness coming towards us, I wasn't scared at all." Kyouko said looking up with a bit of wonder.

"You know what I think Kyouko?" Falla asked simply, the human looking over to her curiously. Falla paused for a moment then shook her head a bit.

"I think we need to find you a boyfriend, one that has nothing to do with Alucard at all, and soon." she said flatly. Kyouko jumped a bit then shook her head with a blush.

"What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with…I wasn't saying…I mean there's nothing wrong with him being in my dream, is there?" she stuttered out.

"At least tell me you weren't naked with him." Falla groaned as she held a hand to her head tiredly. Kyouko turned a bit red and shook her head.

"We weren't naked, it wasn't that kind of dream! …although I was in my underwear when he was carrying me." she said, the girl looking away with a timid expression during the last part. Falla rolled her eyes while Rin peeked out from under her blanket.

"I don't believe this, you can't be serious about liking him that way, he has Alucard's blood in him. That can only lead to trouble Kyouko." Falla said with exasperation.

"So, you don't know that he's bad, he was nice to me when we met earlier. Besides, Akua and Kahlua have Alucard's blood in them as well, and they're not evil." Kyouko said defensively. Falla looked at her with disbelief then shook her head.

"That's not the point here, the point is that some stranger that just flew through the area has wings and blades just like Alucard, something that could only have _come_ from _Alucard_. That's way too suspicious to trust. Tell me you're not falling for this guy Kyouko, tell me you're not…" she said before she saw Kyouko looking down with a blush. Falla looked at her carefully then shook her head.

"Oh my god, you are. You…you were having _that_ kind of dream about him weren't you?" she said with shock.

"No I wasn't! At least…that's not how it started." Kyouko said looking down with a bit of embarrassment.

"You've got to be kidding me, you can't seriously like this guy just because he stood up for you." Falla said in disbelief. Kyouko scoffed then looked at her with annoyance.

"Why not, so what if I do like him? What's wrong with that? You liked Ceal even after he threatened to kill us." she said firmly.

"Wait, he did what?" Rin asked with surprise.

"He was just bluffing then, he wouldn't have harmed us at all. Besides, he healed my mind Kyouko, he saved my life! That's nothing like what this other guy did, if he hadn't stopped Saizo from making a move on you then I sure would have." Falla said firmly.

"So, you know it doesn't matter if he has Alucard's blood in him, that doesn't automatically make him evil. You don't know him, you don't know his story, you don't even know for a fact that he _does_ have Alucard's blood. Maybe…maybe those 'hybrid' monsters naturally look like that, maybe that's why." Kyouko said looking down in thought.

"Kyouko, if you want a monster for a boyfriend that badly, might I suggest finding one that doesn't have the same features of a great destroyer that nearly killed all life on earth?" Falla said with frustration.

"This has nothing to do with me wanting him for a boyfriend!" Kyouko cried out, the girl then slapping a hand over her mouth. Falla looked at her with wide eyes then shook her head.

"You're kidding me, you're really falling for this guy? You don't even know him!" she yelled out.

"You didn't know Ceal either, why's this different?" Kyouko yelled back.

"Because my boyfriend isn't related to Alucard in any way!" Falla shouted out.

"You don't know he's related to that thing, you don't know anything about him!" Kyouko shouted back.

"We saw his wings, we saw his blades, they looked _exactly_ like Alucard's. No other monster has that type of skin or appearance, and the only ones that ever had Alucard's blood in them were once involved with plotting the world's destruction. Akua and Kahlua turned over a new leaf because of your cousin, but we don't know this guy's story, for all we know he's just as evil as Alucard himself!" Falla yelled out. Kyouko growled with frustration then stood up.

"Stop it already! The first time a boy monster actually stands up for me and isn't some creep I'm supposed to be just think he's evil because of how he looks?" she yelled out. Falla looked at her with a bit of surprise as Rin looked at the human worriedly.

"I may never see him again, I may never know his name, I'll likely never know what exactly he is, but he at least wasn't some lecherous jerk before he left. He went out of his way to keep that orc away from me, something he didn't have to do but he did anyway. I never even got to thank him!" Kyouko cried out. She trembled a bit then looked at Falla with a narrowed stare.

"You trusted Ceal, even without knowing what he was or what he could do, even after how he was so cold to you at first you still trusted him, believed that he wasn't some heartless monster." she said with frustration. Falla looked at her worriedly then down. Kyouko shook her head then walked towards the door, the girl stopping to glance back to Falla.

"If this other guy really was so evil, if he really was born from Alucard somehow, then he would have killed us all with his blades. He would have gutted us all without remorse, but he didn't. He came here, he stopped that orc from going near me _without_ killing him, and then he left peacefully. Similar appearance or not…I trust him." she said before walking out of the room. Falla glanced back to the door then looked down with worry. Rin looked to the door with worry then to the chronofly.

"Should we go after her?" she asked worriedly. Falla shook her head and looked out the window at the night sky.

"No, I think she wants to be alone right now." she said softly.

"But this is a school for monsters, what if she runs into trouble?" Rin asked worriedly. Falla laid back on her sleeping mat and looked up at the ceiling.

"She's Tsukune's cousin, nobody here in their right mind will lay a hand on her. Just get some rest Rin, she'll come back when she's had time to cool off." she said as she thought about her boyfriend that was trapped in the human world. She closed her eyes and shook her head a bit.

_Ceal was different, he's somebody with a code of honor and a noble cause. This other guy…he's nothing like him at all._

* * *

Standing out in the courtyard near the dorm buildings Kyouko was looking up at the night sky, the girl seeing a few clouds passing by with the red moon behind them. She sighed and looked over to the horizon with a gentle gaze, the girl thinking about the boy that came and went so quickly.

"Thank you…for defending me." she said softly. The wind gently rolled by, her hair flowing a bit as she looked down with a gentle expression.

"I wonder where you went to…or if you'll ever come back." she said quietly. She remembered him looking back to her before he left, how he said something to her before vanishing into the night.

_"You're fortunate to be on this side of the gateway, after all, humans are the real monsters of the world. You're far safer here than you were out there."_

"Do you not like humans? But if not, why try to save me?" Kyouko asked herself quietly. She looked up at the sky as a few stars were seen behind the clouds.

_Hybrid…I wonder what kind of monster that is._

She blinked then looked over to see two figures running towards the dorm buildings from the beaten path through the woods. As they approached Kyouko recognized the two and waved them over.

"Akua, Kahlua!" she called out. The two vampire sisters stopped and saw the human standing there, the sisters then running towards her with surprise.

"Kyouko? What are you doing here?" Kahlua said looking at the human with wide eyes.

"You're ok, thank god, I thought I saw a girl like you on the news report being killed." Akua said in relief.

"What are you two doing here?" Kyouko asked looking between the two sisters.

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? What happened at your old school?" Akua said grabbing the human by the shoulders and shaking her a bit.

"We saw Falla killing innocent humans on the news report, what happened?" Kahlua said shaking her head. Kyouko looked at them then down with worry.

"Um, well…" she said softly.

"Well what? What happened?" Akua asked urgently. Kyouko looked at them worriedly then shook her head.

"It's a mess, this whole day is nothing but a complete mess. Come with me, we'll explain everything." she said before quickly leading them into the dorm building. They raced up the stairs and towards Rin's room, the three then rushing in with Falla and Rin looking over in surprise.

"Akua, Kahlua? What are you doing here?" Falla asked with a jump.

"Falla!" Akua yelled out, the vampire then lunging forward and grabbing the chronofly by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall. Falla watched with wide eyes as Akua held her against the wall by the shoulders as Kahlua's arm shifted into a bladed weapon, the vampire then holding it to the surprised girl's throat.

"What are you doing? Don't hurt her!" Rin cried out.

"What have you done Falla? You killed innocent humans, you started a war with the two worlds, why?" Akua yelled in anger.

"No I didn't, I tried to stop her! Really!" Falla cried out.

"Stop her? Stop who?" Kahlua asked sternly as she held her bladed arm towards the chronofly's throat.

"The other me!" Falla cried out. Akua and Kahlua just stared at her then glanced to each other.

"The other…you?" Kahlua asked puzzled.

"What are you taking about, why did you murder innocent humans? You were supposed to be setting an example of our desire for peace, not blood!" Akua yelled out with anger. She blinked then looked at the chronofly curiously.

"Wait…your eye." she said as she noticed the girl had two red eyes. Kahlua leaned and examined the girl curiously.

"Hold on, I thought she only had one. How come she has two now?" she asked tilting her head.

"Put her down, she's not the one that tried to kill me, really." Kyouko pleaded. The vampire sisters looked to her with wonder as Falla struggled in the vampire's grip.

"What? You mean, that…that was you on the news I saw? But then…how…" Akua said looking back to Falla.

"How did the school get destroyed, and how did you get your eye back?" Kahlua asked curiously.

"I'll explain everything, just put me down." Falla said nervously. Akua slowly let her go as Kahlua lowered her arm, the vampire's limb shifting back to normal as Falla regained herself.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Falla asked as she straightened out her shirt and closed the dorm room door.

"We came here to bring Moka and Kokoa home, father wants them back from the academy until this crisis is resolved." Akua said while looking at the chronofly's two eyes curiously.

"What happened out there, why did we see you on the news report trying to kill Kyouko?" Kahlua asked looking to the human. Kyouko sighed and waved for them to sit down, the two sisters then sitting next to Rin who was watching them all with concern. Falla and Kyouko explained everything that happened at their school, how they came against Jovian, Jacqueline, and the dark side of Falla, how the three souls from hell were destroyed once and for all by three monsters that were attending their school in disguise, and how they all came to the monster world to save Apoch and Astreal thanks to Falla's new boyfriend who also happened to cure Falla of her dementia and restore her eye. They also explained how they learned that Moka and the others had ventured out to try to bring Falla back before this dark monster from another world came after her, the same one that brought the three souls of hell out in the first place and who also had Luna now imprisoned in his world to be used as a breeder for his growing army. How Moka's group was captured at the scene of the school and blamed for the whole incident by the HDA. And they explained how last they heard on the news reports the HDA command center was experiencing a monster breakout, however further details were unknown as the T.V. lost its signal to the human world when the gateways were completely sealed off. After the girls explained everything Akua and Kahlua were staring at them with shock.

"Moka and Kokoa are still out there? Moka's in the human world right now in the HDA's custody? They're still in the human world?" Akua cried out.

"I'm sure Ceal and the others got to her, they had to have gotten them out of that place." Falla said worriedly.

"Luna's been captured by this other monster? To breed more chronoflies?" Kahlua cried out shaking her head.

"Don't talk about that, I don't want to even think about what's happening to her!" Falla yelled out covering her ears and closing her eyes. She could almost imagine the screams of her sister as she would be violated by shadowy figures, the red eyed chronofly feeling her heart ache as she struggled to retain hope that he sister could be saved before enduring such a dire fate. Kyouko held her worriedly then looked back to the vampire sisters.

"You need to do something, we have to open the gateways to let them back in here, we need them to go after Falla's sister." she said urgently. Akua and Kahlua looked at her with shock then down.

"We'll inform father right away, but I don't know if he'll be able to do anything at the moment. All the dark lords of the monster world have the realm sealed off until they can formulate their next move." Akua said worriedly.

"Moka, Kokoa, they're trapped in the human world…this is horrible." Kahlua said shakily. Akua shook her head then looked around in disbelief.

"I swear this school is cursed! They can't even go one day without all hell breaking loose…it's unbelievable!" she cried out.

"Never mind that, you need to do something! Moka's father is a dark lord, can't he open the gateway for them? Just for a little bit?" Falla said with desperation. Akua and Kahlua shook their heads with remorse.

"He's going to be greatly troubled by this news, to say the very least, but he alone doesn't have the power to open the gateways. It would take all the dark lords of the monster world to reopen the realm to the human world. If only we had known they were there at the time, we would have gone to bring them back before the gateways were closed." Akua said looking down in frustration. She breathed out and stood up with Kahlua.

"We'll go inform father about her whereabouts. Our sisters are strong, surely they escaped the HDA and have fled to safe grounds, especially with all your friends going to help them. I just pray they stay hidden from the humans long enough for us to get to them." Akua said with concern.

"If we hear any news about them or the gateways being opened again we'll let you know. In the meantime stay here with the headmaster of the academy, and let us know if you hear anything." Kahlua said looking at the other girls. Falla nodded then glanced away.

"Um, there is one thing we saw here." she said looking back to Kyouko.

"Oh? What might that be?" Akua asked looking to the human. Kyouko looked down with a worried expression then back to the vampires.

"We saw a boy come through here, but…" she said hesitantly.

"But what?" Kahlua asked. Falla and Rin glanced to each other then back to Kyouko as the human continued.

"He had wings…and blades coming out of his arms." she said cautiously.

"This is the monster world Kyouko, I'm sure there are stranger creatures than that right next door to you in this very academy." Akua said with a slight smile. Kyouko shook her head and looked at them with worry.

"No, you don't understand. His wings and blades…they…they looked just like…" she said before looking to Falla. The chronofly paused for a moment then glanced to the vampires.

"Like Alucard's." she said cautiously. Akua and Kahlua looked at her with surprise then slowly at each other.

"Yeah, it was like…flesh and bone…just mixed together. His wings and blades both seemed to be made of the same type of matter." Kyouko said thinking about the strange wings and blades on the mysterious boy.

"Wings like Alucard…" Akua said quietly.

"He came through here then just took off, we were wondering if either of you might know how he would have wings like that." Kyouko said curiously. Akua and Kahlua looked at each other with worry then down.

"It can't be." Kahlua said softly.

"What's wrong?" Falla asked.

"It can't be him, he should be dead." Akua said shaking her head.

"Who should be dead? You know who that guy was?" Falla asked. Akua looked to Falla then to Kyouko.

"Tell me, what color were his eyes?" she asked. Kyouko looked at her worriedly as she didn't like where this was going.

"They were dark green." she said cautiously. Akua looked down with a bit of frustration, the girl seeming to be thinking intently about something.

"It's him sister, he's still alive." Kahlua said shaking her head. Kyouko looked at the vampires worriedly as Falla and Rin watched them closely.

"You know who that guy is?" Falla asked carefully. Akua nodded slowly as she kept looking down.

"Who is he?" Kyouko asked softly. Akua slowly looked over to her and showed a bit of concern.

* * *

"No! Get away!" a voice cried out in the darkened forest of the monster world. Running through the rotting wooded area a figure was franticly dashing around trees and over ditches as fast as he could, the monster having two bony legs and arms with a smaller skull that had four eyes. He had a unique pair of glasses on which held four lenses over the four eyes with a brass frame, the monster looking around franticly behind him as tree branches were overhead against the night sky. Behind him a shadowy silhouette was seen flying over the trees with a large wingspread.

"Keep away, no!" the bony monster cried out as he ran through the forest towards a small house by a swampy bog. The building was a stone brick one-story house with a slanted roof that had multiple metal antennas sticking out to one side and a stout chimney with colored smoke billowing out of it. The monster raced into his home and closed the door behind him. He locked it and put down a large metal breaker across it before rushing across his living space, which had a few tables with beakers and boiling chemicals that were letting off strangely colored fumes that billowed up towards the ventilation ducts. The frightened monster pushed books and papers off of his desk before grabbing a handgun from under the piles of research he had laid out, the monster then spinning around and watching the door with four nervous eyes. From the desk a unique insignia pin rolled off and bounced onto the floor, the old pin having two fox tails in a loop.

"This isn't happening, it can't be him." the monster said nervously.

The door blasted apart from a powerful strike, the wooden and metal pieces of the door flying apart as the four eyed monster watched with terror. From the entryway a figure walked into the building, the dark green eyes of the intruder glaring with anger ahead of him. His metallic looking wings were extended out behind him while both his arms had wraith blades extended out.

"Get back!" the four eyed monster yelled as he fired a few rounds at the winged boy, the assailant using his blade to block a round before his wing swung around and blocked the others. The bullets ricocheted off and struck a bookshelf off to the side causing tatters of paper to fly about. The four eyed monster trembled as he fired off the rest of the rounds, with the winged boy walking towards him while his wing blocked every attack without a scratch.

"No…it can't be you…you're dead." the monster said shaking his head with fright. The boy removed his shield before him and walked up to the trembling monster with a dark glare.

"What's wrong, aren't you glad to see me again?" the winged boy asked in a cold tone.

"No…why are you here? What do you want?" the monster said nervously as he dropped the empty gun.

"What I want is revenge, plain and simple. Revenge against all those that took away my life." the boy said with hatred. He struck forward with one of his blades and pierced through the bony monster's chest. The monster coughed out blood and screamed as the boy lifted him and struck him against the wall with one arm.

"Dr. Jovona Litchwend, head of bioengineering division number six, and one of the engineers responsible for turning me into Fairy Tale's twisted freak. What I want is your life." the boy said with malice. The monster looked at him wearily as blood dripped from his mouth.

"Please…I didn't…have a choice. I had to follow…my orders." he coughed out as he was held up by the boy's wraith blade.

"Of course…you didn't have a choice. How convenient, just like I didn't have a choice. I didn't have a say in being taken away from my family, I didn't have a voice to object to being turned into a monster, I didn't have a choice either thanks to Fairy Tale!" the boy roared out with fury.

"But…we made you better…we made you…into something more." the monster coughed out weakly. The winged boy glared at him with fury as he drew his other arm back.

"What you made me into…is a monster. Tell me, are you satisfied with how I turned out? Are you happy to see your creation like this? Do I please your ego?" he yelled out. The monster trembled a bit and looked at him with fright.

"Please…have mercy." he said quietly.

"Mercy?" the boy said with narrowed eyes. He then swiped his other arm forward and struck his blade through the skull of the monster with a slick crunch. The monster's legs and arms twitched then fell limp as his body was held up by two blades going through him into the wall.

"There will be no mercy for you or any of those that were part of that accursed organization. You thought you could hide from me? Human world, monster world, it makes no difference. I'll hunt you all down wherever you try to hide, I'll kill every last one of you that ever wore that insignia. I'll kill every Fairy Tale operative, scientist, and agent out there with my own hands, hands that they themselves turned into weapons of war!" he yelled out before he threw the dead monster's body over to the side, the corpse crashing into a table and knocking over several beakers. The table and body crashed down onto the ground as pink and green flames flared around from the chemicals breaking free. The boy growled furiously as he saw the corpse of the fallen monster ignite and start on fire, with the flames flaring around and catching onto the roof and walls.

* * *

"He's one of the test subjects that Fairy Tale used to experiment Alucard's blood on." Akua said cautiously.

"He went crazy with rage at what Fairy Tale did to him and tried to kill everyone when he transformed into a powerful monster, he went on a rampage killing everybody from Fairy Tale he could find." Kahlua said worriedly. Kyouko, Falla, and Rin looked to each other worriedly then to Akua as the vampire shook her head.

"Dark green eyes, wings and blades of Alucard, that's him alright." Akua said with a bit of concern.

* * *

Outside the burning building the boy walked away with a cold glare in his eyes, his wings arching back a bit as he looked to the sky. He took off into the air with a powerful thrust from his wings, the boy flying off over the forest as the building burst into colorful flames before collapsing into itself with smoke billowing upwards.

"I'll kill you all…every last one of you that thought they could run away after what you did to me." he said with hatred.

* * *

"He was supposedly killed a while ago by Fairy Tale enforcers, after Kiria had already chosen Tsukune to be his weapon and after he caused considerable damage to the company's assets. He earned quite a name for himself during his killing spree though, those in the organization referred to him as 'the Fairy Tale killer'." Akua said shaking her head.

"The Fairy Tale killer?" Kyouko asked curiously. Kahlua nodded and looked down worriedly.

"He targeted anyone who worked there, he was killing everybody who ever set foot in Fairy Tale after what the organization did to him." she said with regret.

"Last I heard about him though he was gunned down near the southern coast of Japan after a long bloody chase, but it appears…that was incorrect." Akua said with regret.

"Who is he?" Kyouko asked worriedly.

"What is he?" Falla asked urgently. Akua breathed out then looked to them with a bit of worry.

"His name is Talon Ryashen, he's a hybrid monster like Kahlua and myself are. He was one of the few like us that was transformed by Alucard's blood into a powerful monster. His body generated wings and wraith blades, both of them possessing the same durability and strength as our own permanent changes we received from the great destroyer's blood. His own physical strength increased as well as his healing rate, he became a real weapon of war." she said, the girls looking at her with wonder.

"Hybrid. Wow, so he's part vampire like you are?" Kyouko asked curiously. Akua shook her head as the girls watched her curiously.

"Then, if he's only part Alucard, what was he before?" Falla asked carefully.

* * *

Up in the sky Talon looked around with a cold glare at the horizon in front of him, the boy on a hunt for all those that were once responsible for his transformation into this twisted creation. Every single human or monster that ever worked for the evil organization was his target, the boy fueled by sheer hatred towards them for what they did to him. He looked to his arm as he slowly extended his wraith blade, the boy looking at the weapon as it shimmered slightly in the moonlight from above.

"I'll make them pay as the very weapon they turned me into…I'll make them pay for taking away my humanity."


	13. Conflicts

Inside Rin's dorm room at the academy a group of girls were rendered silent after learning about the mysterious boy that come and gone earlier that night. Kyouko and Falla were looking at the vampire sisters Akua and Kahlua with wide eyes while Rin tapped her headphones a bit, the girl blinking then looking at them curiously.

"Um, I blanked out again. What did she just say?" she asked looking to Akua. Kyouko blinked then looked down with a stunned expression.

"He's…half human?" she said in disbelief.

"Yes, Talon was originally a human that was picked off the streets and taken away for experimentation by Fairy Tale. I'm not proud to admit that I was once part of this organization, and knowing that monsters and humans were once used as test subjects for Kiria's own benefit hurts all the more." Akua said with remorse.

"Wow…so he's a human with Alucard's blood infused into him." Kyouko said with wonder.

"So that's why he attacked Fairy Tale? Because they used him for their experiments?" Falla asked curiously.

"Yes, once he turned into…a monster, he broke out of containment and went on a rampage. He destroyed the testing facility he was held at and worked his way across the land hunting down everybody that had once worn that Fairy Tale insignia. Whether they were agents, scientists, or even receptionists at our human offices, he killed everybody he could find. Nobody was safe from him." Akua said with regret.

"So he's a good guy like Tsukune and the others, he wanted to stop Fairy Tale as well." Kyouko said with a smile. She laughed a bit and looked at Falla with a confident smile.

"And you were convinced he was evil, I told you he wasn't evil just because he had Alucard's blood in him." she said proudly. Falla slowly looked to her and shook her head.

"Kyouko, you're not seeing the big picture here." she said worriedly.

"What are you talking about? He's just after everybody that was in that evil organization, he's not-" Kyouko said before she blinked then looked back to Akua and Kahlua.

"We were in that organization Kyouko, as much as we regret it, it's true. We once served Kiria with his dark plans." Akua said with remorse.

"That's not all." Falla said looking down with worry. The girls all looked to her as she shook her head.

"I knew it was too strange for him to be just passing through, he was here for a reason." she said with a bit of frustration.

"What's wrong?" Kyouko asked.

"Dark worked at Fairy Tale." Falla said looking to her.

"What? Dark was part of that place too?" Kyouko said with surprise.

"Oh no, that's right, Dark was Fairy Tale's top agent, everybody in the organization knew him." Kahlua said worriedly.

"That's why he was here Kyouko, he didn't drop by just to keep Saizo from going near you. He was looking for Dark!" Falla cried out.

"That makes sense, he must have learned about Dark staying here and came after him." Akua said worriedly.

"What? But…Dark's one of the heroes that put an end to Fairy Tale and Alucard, he's not evil at all." Kyouko said shaking her head.

"It doesn't matter Kyouko, didn't you just hear them? This Talon guy is looking for anybody who ever worked at Fairy Tale, regardless of what they did. He's looking for and killing everybody whoever worked there, and that includes Akua, Kahlua, and Dark. He came here looking to kill Dark." Falla said with concern.

"This isn't good. Dark is safe from him since he's in the human world, but we're trapped here." Kahlua said nervously.

"Calm yourself sister, one of us alone should be more than a match for him, together we can handle him if he shows up. He may have Alucard's blood in him, but so do we along with our vampire blood as well." Akua said looking to the window carefully.

"But you two aren't evil, you made a mistake and helped rectify it. You even helped save my life from Jovian." Kyouko said with concern.

"He doesn't care Kyouko, to him we're guilty and to be executed for what Fairy Tale did to him." Akua said shaking her head.

"But…he can't be evil, he can't be." Kyouko said looking down with remorse.

"Get it through your head Kyouko, he's a murderer. Fairy Tale created a monster and now it's running loose." Falla said looking down with caution.

"We need to head back home and send word to father about this. It's only a matter of time before he tracks us down." Kahlua said worriedly.

"Then we'll have to track him down first." Akua said with a focused expression.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Kyouko asked worriedly.

"I mean we need to find him first and take him down, before he does so to us." Akua said glancing to her.

"No, you can't kill him, he's just…he's just angry about what Fairy Tale did to him, he has every right to be. You can't kill him for that. There…there must be some way to reason with him, to show him you're not bad anymore." Kyouko pleaded.

"There's no reasoning with him, many past agents have tried. He's out there right now searching for any in the monster world that once belonged to Fairy Tale. And what do you think will happen if the gateways are ever opened again?" Kahlua said with a solemn expression.

"He'll head out into the human world, and kill all those that were part of Fairy Tale as well. The humans will see a monster going on a killing spree, and it will only further their cause to wage war against us. We need to kill him before the gateways are opened again." Akua said firmly.

"No, you can't do that. He's not a bad guy." Kyouko pleaded.

"Didn't you hear them at all Kyouko? This guy's been spilling blood everywhere he goes because of his quest for revenge. What if he finds Dark and kills him too? Are you still going to say he's not bad?" Falla said while crossing her arms.

"But he's not bad, we can talk to him, tell him that Fairy Tale has been defeated and those responsible for his abuse have been killed. He doesn't need to keep looking around for revenge, he can stop and live his life." Kyouko said urgently.

"He won't stop, he's even declared so. He won't stop until he kills everybody from Fairy Tale with his bare hands." Kahlua said shaking her head.

"We need to get going and send word to father about this. You girls stay here at the academy where it's safe, at least he won't be coming after any of you." Akua said as the sisters walked towards the door.

"Wait, there must be another way." Kyouko said worriedly.

"It's us or him Kyouko, and I intend to live." Akua said simply.

"If by some miracle the gateways are allowed to be opened again he'll get out and run loose in the human world, we'll have another monster making us all look bad to everybody." Kahlua said shaking her head.

"But…but…" Kyouko said as the two vampires left the room. The human watched them go with disbelief then looked to Falla.

"I told you that guy would be bad news. I told you, if he had Alucard's blood in him that means he's going to be a serious problem." the chronofly said with discontent.

"He's not evil, if he was evil he would have just killed us all for the hell of it. He's just seeking revenge against those that took away his humanity." Kyouko said with concern.

"If Dark had been here those two would have gotten into a fight. I would like to think with Dark's training and strength he would have been victorious, but what if he wasn't? What if Talon had killed him? Would you still think he's not evil?" Falla asked with an accusing stare.

"He hasn't killed any of our friends yet, he can still be reasoned with. He just wanted to put an end to Fairy Tale, that's not wrong." Kyouko said defensively. Falla shook her head and looked over to the window.

"He's trying to kill our friends Kyouko, and if I ever see him again, I'll kill him first. I won't let him kill those we care about all because he's angry at Fairy Tale. There's a difference between killing out of revenge and killing out of anger Kyouko." she said firmly. Kyouko looked at her worriedly then down, the girl shaking her head a bit.

_No, he's not evil, he can't be. That dream, it felt so…real. He's a good person, I just know it._

* * *

"Ok, for the last time, you're an idiot." Leon said flatly.

The large group of friends/allies/rivals/wandering souls had finally arrived at a safe haven for them, with everybody having a chance to finally rest and recover from their ordeal thanks to one of their new friends they had picked up during their lengthy and dangerous escape from HDA custody. Fang Fang, a yasha they had liberated from HDA imprisonment, had graciously allowed the group of monsters that saved him to stay at his family estate, a large Chinese villa located atop a large hill near a human city, as thanks for everything the group had done for him.

"And I'm telling you for the last time it's just a realistic and honest observation of the truth." Render said simply.

To everybody's surprise the yasha was the son of a mafia leader, and had not only great wealth from his family, but also a sound retreat for the group to lay low until they could figure out their next move. There was some slight tension as Ceal and Fang Fang had a rocky history, however the yasha made good on his word to make amends for his father having tried to avoid paying the dragon slayer, and offered a truck filled with gold to the catalyst mage. Of course Ceal had no desire for gold, and the group watched with surprise as the mage had destroyed the gold simply to take the wealth away from Fang Fang as payment. With a place to stay at the group had taken the yasha up on his offer, and although they had escaped from HDA and human law officials thanks to their new friend giving them shelter, they still had various other problems to deal with, some even relating to internal conflicts within the group.

"No, it's just your biased opinion on the matter. You're always impossible to reason with." Leon said shaking his head.

Everybody had learned the truth about how the human city around Falla's school was thrown into chaos, and how the dark being from another world had come after the chronofly by bringing three souls out of hell to use as his pawns. They also learned to their dismay that Luna had already been captured by the dark being, and was being held in the other world surrounded by countless minions and monsters.

"It's not biased, everybody can see it but you. You just can't face facts man, it's sad but true." Render said with a casual shrug.

The group also had a few immediate conflicts to deal with besides the human world declaring war on them. One was with the return of two wandering souls, Arial and Complica. The two young angels weren't able to return to heaven through the barrier above the mortal realm, and were stuck down in the human world while being faced with the possibility of being wiped from existence should they die again. Complica had expressed her desire to return to her heavenly home with great urgency, however Arial had no desire at all to return. She wanted to remain down in the mortal realm near her demon, the snow angel refusing to let him go with her belief that they were destined to be together.

"Enough about this, we already have enough to be dealing with right now without you getting so easily distracted like this." Leon said with a bit of annoyance.

Of course Arial's reunion hit a major snag as she had finally learned the truth about Dark and Mizore, how the snow girl was apparently claiming the demon as her own. This wasn't something that was taken lightly by Arial, given her obvious attempts to kill Mizore, which she came close to doing earlier that day. However the snow angel's true motives were only visible to everybody but Dark, the shadow demon unaware that his guardian angel was in love with him romantically, something that Mizore was painfully aware of.

"I'm not distracted, I'm just aware of my surroundings to a higher level than you are. It's part of being a battlemage, no need to be so jealous man." Render said with a smirk.

Not only was the group faced with trying to keep Arial from killing Mizore, another conflict arose with the addition of another siren. The newcomer Sun had shown her good nature by not only taking care of Arial and Complica upon their arrival, but also aided in the group's escape from HDA control. However everybody was a bit surprised to learn that she and Gin were already acquainted, something that Kokoa wasn't taking too well, especially since the siren had kissed Gin on first sight. The group learned that Gin had once expressed his love to the siren, however the girl turned him down at the time as she wasn't ready for a serious relationship in her life. That now seems to have changed as the siren has shown that she isn't about to let Gin go even though he has a girlfriend now.

"To a higher level? You do remember that you more often than not _set off_ the traps during our hunts rather than _avoid them_ like I do." Leon said with a raised eyebrow.

The entire group of monsters had a few things to deal with all at once, and for the time being were trapped in the human world as the gateways into the monster realm had been sealed off. They had to prevent mankind from going to war with their world, they had to rescue Luna from her dire fate, they had to find a way to send Arial and Complica back home (and hopefully do so before Mizore would be killed from the snow angel's wrath), and they needed to deal with the mysterious monster in the darkness before his army would bring about more havoc in the world.

"That's because I fear nothing during our adventures, just like a true treasure hunter. Now, admit I'm right and save yourself the headache of trying fruitlessly to argue with me." Render said confidently.

And they needed to settle another dispute as well.

"For the last time Render, Apoch and Astreal are the _exact same_ physically, Apoch does _not_ have larger breasts than her sister." Leon said with exasperation.

Walking down a hallway inside the main building within the compound's barrier the two mages were making their way towards the dining hall to meet with the others. The interior of the building was of high class surroundings, with red carpets over smooth wooden floorboards, elegant wooden rafters complete with lamps inside decorative metal holders, and fine crafted wooden doors leading into the various chambers of the grand building. The two boys walked down the hallway from their guestroom they were given from the resident yasha, were dressed in their usual outfits, with their usual hairstyles, and having another pointless argument…as usual.

"And I'm telling you she does. I'm not being offensive to your girl, ok? I'm just pointing out that Apoch is more developed. She has a more seductive sway with her hips when she walks, and her bust size is indeed more mature and larger than her sister's. She's just blossoming into a fine woman before Astreal, there's nothing wrong with that." Render said with a cocky smile.

"First off, Ceal was right to call you an idiot, I'm now in full agreement with him on that one. Secondly, if anything Astreal has a more dignified walk to her, and a more enchanting smile as well. Third, your vision of Apoch being 'more developed' is being misinterpreted by your brain due to your 'aura of confidence' that she keeps saying you possess. It's more like an aura of arrogance and simplemindedness if you ask me." Leon said rolling his eyes. Render chuckled and shook his head while looking forward still.

"Oh Leon, you poor thing. I know you're just now moving on and opening your heart to another girl, and I'm happy for you. I really am. Selena would be happy too. But you're the one that isn't seeing the big picture here. Again, I'm not saying Astreal's a bad pick for you, I'm just saying I hit the jackpot among the two of them by getting a hottie with a badass fighting spirit." he said with a nod. Leon took another step then stopped while looking ahead. Render stopped and glanced to him as Leon glanced down a bit.

"Finally starting to see the truth?" Render asked with a smile. Leon shook his head and glanced back.

"No, but my low level of awareness tells me we're being followed." He said turning around. Render blinked then looked back to seeing Apoch and Astreal standing behind them, with the two girls wearing new black shoes and white socks, light blue miniskirts, white t-shirts, and both of them having deep blushes on their faces. Apoch glanced down to her body then looked back to Render, the girl fidgeting a bit as Astreal was staring at Leon with wonder.

"What the…how long were you two behind us?" Render asked curiously.

"High level of awareness huh?" Leon said flatly while glancing to him.

"We…were behind you the entire time." Apoch said quietly. Astreal nodded slowly in agreement.

"So you've heard everything we've been talking about?" Render asked curiously. The girls slowly nodded while staring at them with blushes. Render looked at them curiously for a moment then up in thought. After a pause he looked to Leon with a shrug.

"Anyway, like I was saying, Apoch definitely has larger-" he started before Leon just whacked him in the back of his head, the boy keeping his eyes on Astreal.

"I see you found more comfortable clothing. You look great Astreal." He said with a soft smile. Astreal just continued to stare at him while Apoch looked at Render curiously.

"Thank you. You look great as well." Astreal said softly. Leon looked at her with a curious smile.

"I'm wearing the same thing as before though." he said with a shrug. Astreal just nodded slowly then glanced to Apoch, the girl smiling a bit at her boyfriend while he rubbed the back of his head with an annoyed expression. She glanced to her sister and smirked with a twitch of her eyebrow, the blonde haired witch giving her a dull glance in response. Render shook his head then looked at Leon with a puzzled expression of annoyance.

"What was that for? I was just pointing out that Apoch-" he started before a loud scream was heard from nearby.

"Get out of my way Complica!" Arial yelled out. The four casters looked over to see Arial running down the hallway towards them only to be tackled to the ground by Complica. The angels were still wearing their normal outfits, with Complica no longer wearing her jacket leaving her wings exposed.

"Stop Arial, please calm down." Complica begged as the snow angel thrashed around on the ground.

"I don't need new clothes and I don't need my own room, I'm sleeping with my husband after dinner, right after I kill that snow girl for daring to take my demon from me!" she yelled out as she scrambled to her feet and ran down the hall.

"Wait hold on, time out!" Render cried out waving his arms around.

"You need to cool down kid, he's not your husband." Leon said shaking his head. In the time it took Arial to throw a massive ice shard towards him Astreal held out her hand and formed her barrier, the wall of light blocking the shard then the snow angel as she ran up to it. She pounded on the barrier then growled loudly, the hallway around her freezing over instantly as the four casters watched her with wide eyes.

"Holy crap, that girl's an angel?" Render asked with disbelief.

"I used to believe so." Apoch said softly.

"Please calm down Ms. Arial, and please stop trying to kill everybody around you." Astreal said firmly. Arial growled loudly as her hair froze over and her hands turned into ice claws.

"Don't you dare to tell me to calm down, some other woman is trying to take my husband away! Now move aside, nothing is going to stop me from being with my true love!" Arial yelled out with anger.

"Ah, to be young and in love. And also insane." Render said weakly.

"Arial, enough!" Gabriel yelled out from behind. The group looked back to seeing Gabriel and Rason walking up towards them. Gabriel was dressed in his usual clothing while Rason had a new pair of his shirts on, the boy wearing his trademark white t-shirt and golden button down shirt that was left undone.

"I have had it, I have had it Arial. We have enough to deal with right now, the world's gone to hell and Complica's sister needs our help. I'm in no mood to deal with your obsession over Dark." Gabriel said sternly.

"Obsession? He's my husband!" Arial yelled out. Gabriel narrowed his eyes and pointed to Rason.

"Do you know who this is?" he asked firmly. Arial glanced to Rason then back to Gabriel, the angel crossing his arms with a firm expression.

"His name is Rason, and he's the official guardian angel of the monster world. That means that his authority is over mine regarding you, and also something you need to keep in mind Arial…" he said, the group looking to Rason as he raised an eyebrow at the snow angel.

"He reports _directly_ to the Almighty." Gabriel said with a nod. Arial glanced to Rason cautiously as the angel stepped forward.

"I'm willing to overlook your defiance at the Almighty's laws regarding you leaving heaven, you helped save us all back at the HDA command center. But if you lay one hand on Mizore again you will have to answer directly to _him_, do you understand?" he said sternly. The group looked to Arial as the snow angel showed a worried expression.

"But…that's not…fair. I saw Dark first, he's mine!" she cried out.

"Not one more word Arial." Rason said sternly, the young snow angel's frozen hair and claws returning to normal as she backed up a step.

"We're all going to eat dinner now, and then rest. If you even mention about Dark being your…husband, I will send you straight to the Almighty myself. Do you hear me?" Rason said sternly. Arial stuttered something as Astreal lowered her shield, the casters and chronofly watching the snow angel worriedly.

"You…you can't…" Arial said nervously.

"Just say yes Arial, don't upset the Almighty." Complica said shaking her head.

"Do you hear me?" Rason said sternly, the angel's eyes giving off a slight glow briefly. Arial looked at him with disbelief then over to Gabriel.

"He…he can't do this, that's not fair." she whined.

"Like I said Arial, all monsters are his jurisdiction. You may have been allowed into heaven, but your actions are against the Almighty's design regardless. It's his say, or else." Gabriel said firmly. Arial looked at them with sorrow then down with a deep glare, the girl growling loudly.

"You…you can't keep him from me like this…" she said through bared teeth.

"Do you hear me or not?" Rason said with a commanding tone. Arial growled loudly with clenched fists, the girl closing her eyes tightly as she trembled a bit. She then looked to Rason with a deep glare and a few tears forming, the girl breathing deeply as she tried not to scream in anger. Rason pointed down the hall as Gabriel had a solemn expression.

"Go to dinner, keep your wild dreams to yourself, and leave Mizore alone. If you touch a single hair on her head it's all over for you Arial." Rason said sternly. Arial growled loudly then looked down while glancing back down the hall. After a pause she turned and walked down the hall with a frustrated expression, the girl muttering and growling to herself as the group watched her go. Rason sighed and glanced to Gabriel as Complica ran ahead after her friend.

"I really hope Dark never hears that I spoke to her like that." he said weakly.

"As long as you keep that girl from going postal again, your secret is safe with us." Render said with a curious eye while he watched Arial and Complica round a corner down the hall.

"You think she'll behave now?" Leon asked looking back to the angels.

"As much as she wants to be with Dark, I doubt she'll be eager to stand before the Almighty in contempt. She'll behave…at least for now." Gabriel said with a shrug. Rason nodded then sighed a bit.

"It's just one problem after another around here, I don't know how we're going to deal with all of this at once." he said shaking his head.

"You kept Ms. Arial from killing Ms. Mizore for now, I'd say that's a victory in itself." Apoch said with a small smile.

"I suppose that's true, one problem down for now." Rason said with a shrug.

A loud crashing sound was heard nearby, the group looking over down the hall to see some dust billowing from one of the connecting hallways.

"And another one to go." Render said simply. The group ran down the hall and rounded the corner to see Sun stumbling back onto the ground while Kokoa was growling loudly at her, the vampire carrying her large morning star weapon again while glaring at the siren.

"Kokoa stop, don't hurt her." Moka pleaded, the vampire running up to her sister and trying to hold her back. She was wearing a new outfit consisting of black shoes with white socks, a pair of pink shorts, and white t-shirt that had a red stripe around the waist.

"What's going on here?" Rason asked.

"That bitch was trying to sneak into Gin's room, I saw her!" Kokoa yelled out. Sun shook her head worriedly as she slowly got up onto her feet.

"How do you know she was looking for Gin's room?" Gabriel asked.

"Because I was in Gin's room with him!" Kokoa yelled out. The group looked to Sun as she glanced around worriedly.

"Kokoa stop, she wasn't trying to sneak into my room." Gin called out as he ran down the hall towards them. He was wearing a pair of gray shoes, black pants, and had a dark green t-shirt on while still wearing his wolf necklace and red headband.

"Yes she was, I saw her poking her head through the door while you were changing, the damn peeping tom!" Kokoa yelled out. Gin blinked then looked over to Sun curiously, the girl blushing a bit and glancing away.

"Sun? Is that true?" he asked. The girl looked to him then wrote down something on her notepad.

I figured with all the times you watched me undress in the ladies room at Yokai, me watching you one time wouldn't be so bad.

Moka and Kokoa's eyes widened then looked back to Gin, the boy showing a nervous expression.

"You did what to her? Gin how could…wait, I already knew he was like this, what am I saying?" Kokoa said, the girl shaking her head then looking back to Sun with a glare.

"It doesn't matter if he did that or not in the past, he's my boyfriend now and only I can see him like that! You had your chance and you blew it, so back the hell off from my mate or so help me I'll smash you into the ground and burn your fucking remains!" she yelled out with anger.

"I always thought vampires were more elegant and civilized." Leon said raising an eyebrow.

"The actions and words of Kokoa do not reflect our race as a whole." Moka said flatly.

**_I'm not sure which is more odd, the fact that two girls are actually fighting over Gin, or that I'm bothered by the idea of the siren coming between him and Kokoa._**

_I'm with Kokoa on this one. Sun may be a nice girl, but she has no right to go near him like this now. He's Kokoa's mate, our sister has every right to be upset._

"Sun, we are grateful you protected Arial and Complica before we met, but still you need to understand that Kokoa and Gin are together now." Moka said gently. Sun glanced to her then wrote something down with a dull expression.

Isn't she a bit young for him?

Moka's eyebrow twitched a bit as the girl forced a smile.

"They're in love, that's all that matters." she said with a tone of annoyance. Sun raised an eyebrow then wrote something else down.

He was in love with me while also taking pictures of me in my underwear. Doesn't that count?

Moka looked at the pad with a stunned smile then glanced to Kokoa, the vampire looking back to Gin with a worried expression. He shook his head and smiled nervously as Kokoa showed a bit of uneasiness.

"Oh c'mon, it's not like I'm doing that now, I'm a changed man remember?" he pleaded. Kokoa nodded then looked back to Sun.

"You're too late, we're together after you rejected him. He's all mine now." She said firmly. Sun looked at her with a dull expression then wrote down something else.

Did he even take pictures of you in your underwear?

Kokoa smiled arrogantly and stood proudly while having her large weapon resting on her shoulder.

"He sure did, I was the best piece in his collection." she boasted. Moka smiled weakly and glanced to the others, the vampire not sure how she should feel about her sister bragging about Gin having taken pictures of up her skirt before. Sun smirked and wrote down something else for her to see.

Really, I doubt that seeing as how I was the best piece in his collection. He even told me so many times.

Kokoa looked at the pad with a jump then growled at her.

"You wish bitch, he took far more pictures of me and my underwear than you by far, both in the girls changing room and outside while I was just walking to school. He had at least three cameras filled with them." she said proudly.

"Um…what are they arguing about here?" Render asked with a bewildered expression. Sun rolled her eyes and wrote down something else.

He took high definition shots of me and also filmed me while I was in swimming class on multiple occasions. I saw the videos myself, very high production values on his work.

Moka showed a concerned expression and glanced to Gin, the boy looking down with a hand over his eyes as he shook his head a bit.

"Again, I'm not like that now." he pleaded. Kokoa looked at the pad with wide eyes then growled loudly at the siren.

"That's nothing, he and I had sex in the newspaper club room on multiple occasions, after all I _am_ the girl he picked to be his." Kokoa said proudly. Rason and Moka looked down with slight cringes as they remembered a few occasions walking in on the couple during those events. The others looked at Gin with wide eyes while Sun glanced to him curiously.

"Do we really need to be talking about this now?" he groaned shaking his head while still looking down.

"I vote no, I still want to have an appetite for dinner." Astreal said flatly.

"Seconded." Apoch said quickly.

"Seriously, they're really arguing about this?" Render asked in disbelief. Sun looked at Gin with a raised eyebrow then back to Kokoa, the siren then writing something down on her pad and showing the vampire.

You're far too young to handle him properly, I doubt he was fully satisfied with such an inexperienced schoolgirl.

Kokoa growled then swung her giant weapon into the floor, the wood below shattering and crushing down into the ground.

"You've got a lot of nerve speaking to me like that. I'll have you know I took him all the way inside while he was in his werewolf form! Like hell you could handle something like that without being split apart, only a true S-Class monster like myself could do that!" she yelled out. The group looked to Gin with wide eyes as the boy looked down with embarrassment.

"And there goes my appetite." Leon said flatly while looking up.

"Enough Kokoa, we don't need to hear any more about this. For crying out loud don't you have any shame?" Moka said shaking her head.

**_That would be an obvious no._**

"Yeah, you made your point. You have absolutely no shame and you guys do it wherever you please, can we just end this little discussion of yours?" Render said with a slightly disturbed face. Sun narrowed her eyes at Kokoa as the two stared at each other with discontent, faint traces of lightning barely being seen as they shot between them. Rason and Gabriel glanced to each other then turned to walk away.

"We'll be in the dining hall making sure Arial behaves, feel free to join us once you're done having this colorful discussion." Rason said simply, the two angels then walking down the hall and rounding a corner. Kokoa scoffed and grabbed onto Gin's arm as her weapon poofed back into its bat form, the familiar flying over and perching on her shoulder.

"Get it through your head, he's mine! I've gone through hell to keep him in my life and there's no fucking way some old high school friend is going to take him away from me, you got that?" she shouted out. Sun glanced to Gin then back to Kokoa with discontent. Moka looked at her sister then to Sun with concern, the siren then walking away with a bit of annoyance. Kokoa growled quietly then glanced to Gin, the boy still looking down with a hand over his eyes.

"Well…I think we'll be joining the others now." Leon said taking Astreal's hand and leading her away. Render nodded and took Apoch's hand, the four then walking down the hall while trying not to think about Kokoa and a large werewolf having sex before dinner. Moka sighed and glanced to her sister.

"Kokoa, you didn't have to go into such detail about that. We really didn't need to know about any of that." she said weakly.

"You think?" Gin said with exasperation. Kokoa looked down with annoyance while she held onto her boyfriend's arm.

"Who the hell does she think she is peeping on my boyfriend like that?" she said with anger. Gin looked at the girl with a bit of concern then lifted her chin to look at him.

"She's not going to take me away from you Kokoa. No girl ever could." He said gently. Kokoa nodded slowly then hugged him around the waist.

"Still rubs me the wrong way seeing her going near you. She needs to get it through her head that you're mine, or so help me I'll beat it into her skull myself." she muttered.

"Welcome to the club Kokoa." Moka said with a smirk. Kokoa looked to her curiously as Moka started walking away.

"Now you know how we've all felt from time to time." she said with a slight laugh. Kokoa showed a slight smirk to that then looked over to see Ran and Ahakon walking down the hall, the siren wearing her outfit from before while the boy was dressed back in his usual mage's outfit complete with red cape. Walking on the other side of Ahakon was Yukari, the girl dressed back in her usual witches outfit and hat.

"Wow, what are the odds they would have the exact same clothes I wore before?" Ahakon asked looking down to his outfit with a curious smile.

"I know, Fang Fang's tailors got this put together for me so quickly, I feel like I'm at home again." Yukari said with a giggle. Ran blushed a bit and glanced to Ahakon.

"You look very dashing in it Ahakon, as always." she said while walking near him. Yukari glanced to her with a dull smile and nodded while Ahakon smirked and rubbed the back of his head a bit, the boy looking down with a small chuckle. The three walked up to Gin and Kokoa then saw the damage to the hallway around them.

"What happened here?" Yukari asked.

"Kokoa and Sun got into a little argument." Gin said with a weak smile. Kokoa growled a bit then glanced to see Ran looking down with concern, the siren then looking away with a worried expression. She took Ahakon's hand and held it tightly, the girl feeling uneasy about the other siren being nearby still. The mage looked at her with worry as Yukari glanced around the hall.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Gin would have girls fighting over _him_." she said looking around the damaged hallway with a curious eye.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? My boyfriend is a very desirable S-Class werewolf." Kokoa said firmly.

"That used to be the biggest pervert in school. He even took pictures of me in my underwear." Yukari said tugging her skirt down.

"Wait, he did what?" Ahakon yelled out looking to Gin with a glare.

"Oh come on! Can we please just forget about how I used to be, I'm not like that anymore! It's all in the past!" Gin cried out. The group just looked at him as he shook his head with exasperation.

"You took pictures of Yukari? Isn't she a bit young for you?" Ran asked.

"Just forget about it already! He's not like that anymore! Besides you're one to talk, you keep hanging onto Ahakon and he's clearly way younger than you are!" Kokoa yelled out.

"That's different, I'm not taking pictures of him in his underwear." Ran said shaking her head as she held the boy's hand tightly.

"Yeah, you only drew him like that." Yukari said flatly. Ran twitched a bit then looked down with worry.

"He had his pants on still." she said quietly. Kokoa rolled her eyes then glanced down the hall to where the others had left. Ahakon looked down with a bit of a nervous smile then glanced to Gin, the wolf rubbing the back of his head with a nervous expression as well.

"Well…I'm getting pretty hungry, how about you?" Gin asked with a forced smile. Ahakon nodded quickly and the two boys walked ahead down the hall, both eager to avoid any more discussions about Sun and Ran's obvious infatuations with them. Kokoa watched them go then looked to Ran with a raised eyebrow.

"Was Sun really the siren you saw that night? The one that destroyed your home?" she asked as the girls started walking down the hall together.

"I'm sure it was her, it had to have been. My sister couldn't have done such a thing." Ran said with a bit of anger.

"But you didn't actually see her did you? You just saw another monster causing the damage." Yukari pointed out. Ran glanced to her then looked back ahead.

"She was there that night, she looked just like the monster that killed my parents and destroyed my home. It had to have been her." She said firmly.

"But what about her accusation of the siren wearing headphones? Is that just a coincidence?" Yukari wondered.

"She saw Rin's hair color and headphones, but the siren she claimed she saw had red eyes, not blue." Kokoa said looking down in thought.

"She's making the whole thing up, I know it was her. It had to have been." Ran said with frustration. Kokoa glanced to her then looked back ahead.

"As much as I would love to crush her into the ground under that assumption, the way she described Rin's exact appearance is too much of a coincidence to be ignored. It may not have been Rin, but sounds like she saw somebody that looks almost like your sister." she said cautiously. Ran looked at her worriedly then ahead, the girl unable to believe her kind-hearted sister could have destroyed their entire home, or even had the power to do so.

The three girls walked down the hall and entered the main dining hall of the building. It was a larger room with small wooden tables and sitting pillows set out around a small pond in the center, the centerpiece having a few exotic fish swimming around through the crystal clear water along with colored stones resting on the bottom.

Sitting at one of the eating tables Fang Fang was talking to one of his guards with a calm smile, the yasha dressed in his usual apparel of a light blue Chinese long sleeve jacket, black pants, and light blue shoes. He glanced over and waved to the new arrivals and motioned for them to sit anywhere. Sitting next to him Moka was looking down at her meal prepared by the yasha's cooks, the vampire having a blank expression as she hadn't touched her food yet. Kokoa walked over and sat down next to Gin, the wolf seated next to Moka and smiling at his girlfriend. The vampire smiled a bit at him then looked over to see Sun sitting on the other side of Fang Fang, the siren glancing to Gin with a curious eye. Kokoa snarled quietly and grabbed hold of Gin's hand tightly, the girl looking down to her meal with annoyance as Gin looked between the two girls worriedly. Sun glanced to Kokoa with discontent then looked down at her meal as well, the siren clenching her fists slightly in her lap. To her side Apoch and Render were seated next to each other with Leon and Astreal next to them, the four glancing around at the dining room and sensing the conflicts of their peers.

"Yeah, all of us eating dinner together. Nothing could go wrong with that." Render said flatly.

"Not sure which is going to cause more problems, Sun or Arial." Leon said shaking his head.

"Ms. Arial." Apoch and Astreal said simply.

Nearby Gabriel was looking down with a raised eyebrow while Kurumu was shaking Rason as the angel was again passed out from her overzealous greeting. The succubus was wearing a blue miniskirt, light purple t-shirt, and a worried expression as she was trying to wake up her boyfriend after her bosom had once again deprived him of oxygen.

"I'm so sorry Rason, wake up, please!" Kurumu cried out.

"Poor angel." Yukari said shaking her head. She walked over and sat next to Ahakon, the boy smiling at her then over to Ran as she sat on the other side next to him. The three smiled a bit at seeing Kurumu trying to wake up her boyfriend then looked over to see Arial and Complica sitting next to each other across the centerpiece. Arial was looking down at her table with a focused glare while Complica was glancing to her with a worried expression.

"Please Arial, just let it go." Complica said quietly.

"I will never let my demon go. Never." Arial hissed.

"Think she'll behave?" Apoch asked worriedly. Render glanced to the side of the hall and shrugged.

"We're going to find out." He said as the group saw Dark and Mizore walk into the room, the snow girl holding onto the demon's hand while they both had blank expressions as always. As they did everybody glanced to Arial, the snow angel quickly looking over to Dark with a bright smile. She blinked then looked over to see Gabriel glancing to her with a stern expression while Rason shot up with a gasp, the boy coming to his senses as Kurumu breathed out in relief. Arial looked back to seeing Dark and Mizore walking over and sitting next to her, with the demon right beside her and Mizore on the other side of him. Mizore glanced to Arial worriedly then to the others, all of them watching the snow angel carefully. Dark smiled a bit at Arial then looked around to seeing all eyes watching her.

"Why are you all staring at her like that?" he asked carefully. The group jumped a bit and smiled nervously.

"Just…still amazed to see her…here." Moka said with a nod.

"Yeah…hard to believe that this is the girl that…you dedicated your life to." Kokoa said in agreement.

"Yes…_very_ hard to believe." Mizore said quietly.

"Dedicated…his life to?" Arial said looking to Dark curiously.

"That's right Arial, Dark's lived his whole life in honor of you." Rason said as he and Kurumu sat next to Mizore, the snow girl glancing to them then back to Arial. Gabriel sat down next to Complica and watched the snow angel carefully, the girl looking at Rason puzzled then to Dark.

"I don't understand, what is he talking about?" she asked.

"I wanted to make you proud Arial, I wanted you to be happy with the life you gave me." Dark said softly. Arial looked at him with wonder as the demon smiled a bit at her.

"I wanted to honor your wish of granting me my freedom, I've lived my whole life in your memory." he said gently. She looked at him with surprise as the group smiled a bit at that.

"You…have?" she asked softly.

"Yes, you were my guardian angel Arial. I know I was used as a weapon of war during my life, but I've always pushed on to lead a good life for you. I wanted you to be proud of your demon." Dark said with a slight tone of pride. Arial looked at him with awe then smiled softly.

"Dark…" she said softly. Dark smiled a bit and brushed a few hairs away from her face, the girl smiling bashfully at him.

"I hope I haven't let you down Arial, I've tried to be a good soul in this world. I've tried to be worthy of your wish." he said gently.

"Dark…" Arial said softly with a few tears forming. She cried out and leapt into a hug with him, the girl holding him as her wings fluttered a bit.

"You're the best shadow demon ever, I always knew that. I never had a doubt that you were a good soul." she said with a few tears in her eyes. The group smiled gently at seeing Dark holding the angel, the demon showing a calm smile as she held onto him tightly. For a moment the world around Arial vanished as she was held by her demon, the girl feeling her body warming up from her heart beating faster.

"Thank you Arial." Dark said gently. Mizore smiled a bit and brushed a few hairs away from her face, in doing so Apoch glanced to her then jumped in surprise at seeing the ring on the snow maiden's hand.

"Ms. Mizore…is that…" she said pointing to it. The group all looked to Mizore as she glanced to her wedding ring, the girl smiling softly and nodding.

"Oh my…is that a wedding ring?" Astreal said with wide eyes. Arial looked at the ring with wide eyes then slowly over to Mizore with a deep glare.

"Yes, Dark officially proposed to her, and even had that ring forged just for her." Yukari said with a smile. The group then glanced to Arial as the snow girl was growling quietly, her eyes glaring at Mizore while Dark was smiling at his fiancée. The snow angel glanced to Rason then back to Mizore, then stood up and looked away with her hair covering her eyes.

"Arial?" Dark asked as the girl started walking away towards a doorway. As she got to it Ruby and Razico walked in, the witch wearing her usual choice of a gothic dress while Razico was dressed with his usual gray boots, black pants, red belt, and black shirt.

"Sorry we're late, this is such a huge place, we sort of got lost." Ruby said with a shrug. She watched as Arial walked past them and out of the dining hall.

"Where's she going?" Fang Fang asked curiously. Razico looked out in the hallway and saw Arial forming a large block of ice before her away from the dining hall, the girl focusing her power and shaping the block into a perfect likeness of Mizore. Arial looked at the statue for a moment then formed her ice claws, the girl then hacking and cursing loudly as she viciously tore apart the likeness of the snow girl.

"Um…" Razico said looking back to Ruby. The witch peeked outside of the dining room and watched with wide eyes as Arial dismembered the snow statue of Mizore with furious swipes of her claws. Ruby blinked then glanced to Razico with worry as the warlock just watched the snow angel venting her rage, the young girl cleaving the head of the statue clean off while slicing apart the upper body with powerful strikes.

"What's wrong?" Dark asked. Razico glanced back to him then out in the hallway to seeing Arial swinging a giant hammer made of ice onto the remains of the snow statue's body, the angel smashing it into the ground with loud snarls.

"She's…just going to the restroom I think." Razico said looking back and smiling at the group nervously. Ruby looked back out through the door and saw Arial stomping down on the bits of snow and frost with fury, the girl having rage in her eyes as she hopped up and down while nearby guards just watched with puzzled expressions.

"Going to the restroom?" Dark asked puzzled.

"Yeah…the poor thing must have had it building up all day." Ruby said with a nervous smile as she watched Arial walk over to a decorative sword that was on the wall, grab it, then walk back to the remains of the statue. She geared back with the sword and swung down at the statue's head that was next to the frost and pieces of the body that were annihilated by the snow angel. She struck down again and again with vicious snarls, the girl destroying the head with powerful strikes while nearby guards just watched with stunned expressions. After the head was reduced to frost and dust the snow angel placed the sword back on the wall then stomped around while growling loudly in frustration. Ruby and Razico closed the door then walked over to the others with nervous smiles.

"She'll be right back I'm sure." Ruby said with an eager nod, the two casters then sitting down next to the others as Dark looked over towards the door. After a while Arial walked back in and across the dining hall with a blank expression. She walked over towards Dark, the girl sitting down next to him and looking down at her meal with a focused gaze.

"Arial? Are you alright?" Dark asked. Arial glanced to Rason then back to Dark, the girl then nodding once.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said softly.

"Well then…please, dig in everybody. There's plenty more where this came from." Fang Fang said gesturing around at the meals before the group. Ruby and Razico glanced to Arial carefully as the group started to eat, the snow angel just staring down at her meal with a dull expression. After a pause she started to eat as well, the girl avoiding eye contact with everybody while still looking down.

"Thank you for all of this Fang Fang, we would be in real trouble without your hospitality." Moka said softly while looking down at her meal, the vampire eating slowly with a slightly saddened expression.

"Of course. I know you all have had a rather unpleasant day, and surely have more hardships before you, but please take this time to rest. You've earned it." Fang Fang said looking around at everybody.

"We're very grateful for you letting us stay here, we'll try to be on our way and out of your hair as soon as we can." Ruby said graciously.

"Nonsense, it's been ages since I've had guests. Besides, it looks like the human world won't exactly be welcoming you with open arms at the moment, this villa is the safest place for you now." Fang Fang said with a wave of his hand. He looked to Sun with a sympathetic expression as the siren was still looking down at her meal.

"I am sorry about your friend today. She was very brave to help a group of monsters such as us escape from her own kind." He said gently. Sun nodded as she held back a few tears, the girl wiping her eyes as the group looked at her worriedly.

"Her name was Sandra, yes?" Ruby asked gently. Sun nodded and glanced to her. Moka raised her glass with a sympathetic expression.

"To Sandra then." she said softly, the rest of the group doing the same in honor of the fallen human.

"Not often monsters have a toast to humans." Ceal said as he walked into the hall.

"Ceal, there you are." Razico said looking over to him.

"You're just in time to eat with us, please, have a seat and dig in." Fang Fang said motioning towards an empty seat. The catalyst mage walked over and sat next to Gabriel, the boy taking a drink as the group saw his reptilian hand holding the glass. He then glanced over to see Complica smiling softly at him, the girl's wings fluttering a bit as she sat on the other side of Gabriel. Ceal looked back down to his meal with a blank expression before he started eating, the mage not making eye contact with anybody.

"What kept you? You get lost too?" Ruby asked curiously.

"I'm well aware of the layout of this building, I was here before." Ceal said casually while still looking down at his table.

"I hope my guards weren't giving you any trouble, I gave them specific orders not to bother you while you stay here." Fang Fang said with concern. Ceal kept eating while not looking at anyone, while all eyes were on him.

"I was just feeding Xarai. All that gold gave him an appetite for real meat." he said simply. Fang Fang blinked and looked at him worriedly.

"Um…what…did you feed him?" he asked nervously.

"Relax yasha, I fed him outside of the compound walls, I wouldn't feed him such junk food as your guards." Ceal said simply. Fang Fang looked at him curiously then up in thought.

"But…what's around here to feed a necro demon with?" he asked curiously.

"There were quite a few deer in the woods near your home. Not many now." Ceal said simply. The group looked at him curiously as Fang Fang smiled weakly.

"Oh, I see." he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"All that gold and deer, he must have a full stomach by now." Render said with a laugh. Ceal merely shook his head as he kept eating with a blank expression.

"What do you mean no? How much does he eat?" Kurumu asked curiously.

"He can eat forever succubus, his many stomachs digest food rather quickly and are always available for more." Ceal said glancing to her. The group looked at him with wide eyes at that.

"So…he's always hungry?" Moka asked in wonder.

"He's a big boy, he's got a big appetite." Ceal said dryly. He blinked then glanced to the side as a soft groaning sound was heard under the floor. The group looked around curiously as the sound seemed to echo around them.

"What was that?" Ran asked. Ceal paused for a moment then resumed eating.

"You missing a dog yasha?" he asked without a care. Fang Fang blinked then looked at him curiously.

"Why, yes, we are. My father's dog Riko ran away a while ago. Why do you ask?" he asked tilting his head a bit.

"Xarai found him." Ceal said simply. The group blinked then looked to Fang Fang, the boy showing a nervous expression.

"Um…found him?" he asked worriedly. Ceal nodded then glanced to him.

"In the woods." he said simply.

"Oh dear, is he…ok?" Fang Fang asked worriedly. Ceal paused then held out his reptilian hand, the boy snapping his fingers as the group watched curiously. From beside him a dark rift opened up with another ghostly moan heard from below, the group watching as a mangled dog collar flew up through the rift and into the boy's hand. He tossed the collar over to Fang Fang across the centerpiece as the rift slowly sealed up. The yasha caught the pink collar and looked at it with wide eyes as Ceal kept eating casually.

"I'd say he's seen better days." Ceal said simply.

"Oh dear, Riko." Fang Fang said shaking his head.

"Your demon ate his dog?" Yukari asked with surprise.

"Not my fault the dog was lost in the woods, he was fair game to Xarai." Ceal said glancing to her.

"Well…father's not going to be pleased about this." Fang Fang said softly. Ceal glanced to him then smirked a bit.

"If you'd like, I can have Xarai give him back, although I doubt you'll be eager to pet him now." he said with chuckle. Fang Fang looked at him with a blank expression then down.

"What the hell, your demon ate his dog and you're laughing about it?" Kurumu said with discontent.

"Um…sorry Fang Fang." Moka said softly. The yasha trembled and bit and held an arm across his eyes. After a moment he started laughing and looked up with a smile.

"Thank god that dog is gone, it's a miracle." he said with relief. The group looked at him puzzled as he shook his head with a chuckle.

"I hated my father's dog, the horrible little monster always bit me whenever I tried to pet him." Fang Fang said with a bit of annoyance. The group glanced to each other then looked back to him as he looked down with a relieved smile.

"I was glad when he ran away, he was like a demon dog in some ways. Always tearing up my clothing and biting on my hair braid like a chew toy." he said shaking his head.

"Then I guess…Ceal did you a favor…by feeding your father's dog to Xarai…which sounds very weird." Razico said looking down with a bit of confusion. Fang Fang laughed a bit and nodded slightly.

"Yes, I suppose he did. Although I'm not sure if that was his intention as he was just feeding his own pet. Still, I guess I should thank you for making sure that demon dog never came back." he said looking to Ceal. The mage continued to eat without even glancing to him. Fang Fang nodded then looked around as he tossed the mangled collar behind him carelessly.

"Well, now that we're all here and the hound from hell is no more, perhaps we could get to know each other finally. I'm very eager to know more about my saviors today." he said with a curious smile.

"Yeah, I think some introductions are an order as well." Rason said looking at the new faces in the group. Render and Leon smirked and shrugged a bit while Ceal didn't show any reaction at all. Sun glanced to Gin and smiled softly, then looked over to see Kokoa glaring at her still. As the group started to introduce themselves and what they were Arial slowly glanced to Mizore, the snow maiden listening to what Render and Leon actually were with a blank expression as always. The snow maiden then slowly glanced over to catch Arial's eye, the snow angel narrowing her eyes a bit as she scowled slightly. Dark continued to listen to the newcomers' introduction, the boy not seeing Arial glaring at Mizore or the snow girl's worried expression. Arial mouthed out something before looking back down to her meal, something that Mizore, although wasn't fluent with reading lips, could make out.

'He's mine.'

* * *

After the meal was over the large group of monsters headed towards their rooms for a much needed rest after a nightmarish day. Fang Fang bid the group a goodnight before heading off towards his own room on the other side of the building, the yasha talking casually to one of his guards and instructing him to make sure the group was not disturbed during the night, including Ceal.

"So a battlemage, a mimic mage, and a catalyst mage, all were in your school? What are the odds of that?" Yukari asked looking to Apoch and Astreal. The sisters giggled in unison and looked to their boyfriends, the mages smiling a bit at that.

"It was a good thing they were there, I still can't believe Jovian and Jacqueline came back like that. Those two were a nightmare." Kurumu said shaking her head as she was holding onto Rason's hand. The angel nodded and looked up with a worried glance, the boy still concerned about Luna's fate and whether she was ok still in the dark world.

"Render took care of Ms. Jovian splendidly, he was certainly more than a match for her." Apoch said holding Render's hand, the boy chuckling a bit while rubbing the back of his head.

"Leon's ability to mimic their magic saved the day, Ms. Jacqueline finally got what was coming to her and then some." Astreal said holding onto Leon's hand, the mage glancing to her with a smile.

"But Render saved his life as well, Ms. Jovian was going to kill him before he cut her down with his sword." Apoch pointed out.

"It took Leon using Ms. Jovian's magic to break down her own barrier, without him we would have been killed." Astreal said glancing to her sister.

"That's not true, Render maneuvered around Ms. Jovian and used my own sword to his advantage in cutting through her barrier, he didn't need Mr. Leon's help at all." Apoch said proudly.

"I vaguely recall having to save that idiot from that witch's attack today." Ceal said flatly, the boy walking ahead of all of them with a dull expression.

"Hey c'mon man, this is between me and my buddy here." Render said with a nervous chuckle. Astreal smirked at her sister, the raven haired witch giving her a dull stare as the others behind them glanced to each other.

"Well, at any rate, we're glad to have you all helping us like this." Ruby said graciously. Razico nodded then looked over to see Moka looking down with a worried expression.

"Moka? What's wrong?" he asked. The vampire shook her head and looked ahead with a gentle expression.

"I wish Tsukune was here." she said softly.

"He's got his own battle to deal with, and we have our own. We'll deal with this problem so when he comes out of Paradise he won't have to." Ruby said assuredly.

"He's going to come out of that place any day now Moka, we just need to make sure the world's still spinning then for him." Kurumu said gently.

"I hope so, I really miss him. I just hope he's doing ok." Moka said softly.

"He'll be fine Moka." Dark said from behind them. Moka glanced back to seeing Dark and Mizore walking together holding hands, with Arial walking closely to the demon's other side.

"After all that boy's been through, I seriously doubt anything in Paradise is going to slow him down during his recovery." the demon said simply.

"He's right Moka, he'll be fine. We need to deal with this crisis in the meantime, you don't want your mate coming out into a war." Gin said from next to Kokoa, the two walking and holding hands while Sun was walking behind them. Moka nodded and looked down with a small smile.

"Thank you, I just miss him is all." she said softly. Sun walked up next to Gin and showed him her sketchpad.

Who is this Tsukune she's talking about?

"He's her boyfriend Sun, and also the one that struck down Alucard." the wolf said proudly.

"What? He was the one that did that?" Render said looking back to Moka with surprise. Leon looked at the vampire with wonder while Ceal merely glanced back to her. Sun stared at Moka with wide eyes as the vampire nodded with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, my mate put an end to that destroyer for good." she said with a proud tone.

"Along with Falla's help vampire." Ceal said looking back ahead. Moka looked to him then smiled a bit.

"That's right, if it wasn't for her chrono magic and Tsukune's strength, Alucard would have destroyed all life in both the human and monster worlds. Those two really did save the day." she said gratefully.

"You all fought bravely that day, you really are the heroes the world needed that day." Ran said glancing to Ahakon as she walked next to him, the mage rubbing the back of his head with a chuckle in response.

"You're the heroes the world needs now, if only the humans would understand that." Gabriel said looking down with concern, the angel walking next to Rason. In front of him Complica nodded then ran up to Ceal, the girl grabbing hold of his reptilian hand with worry.

"You're going to help my sister, aren't you?" she asked softly.

"Of course, after all I need to kill this monster in the darkness for all the distractions he's laid before me in my quest to slay Fafnir." the mage said dryly. Complica smiled a bit at him and looked down as her wings fluttered gently.

"And the fact that Falla's in great danger by this guy has nothing to do with you wanting to kill him, right?" Render said with a chuckle.

"Careful Render, getting Ceal to admit that he has a heart can be hazardous to your health." Razico said with a smirk. Ceal kept walking ahead while a blank expression as Complica looked up to him curiously.

"Of course he has a heart, he loves my sister Falla." she said softly. Ceal glanced to her then looked head as Render smiled amusingly at the boy.

"Oh ho ho, he admitted it did he? About time, and here I thought he was going to play the part of cold heartless jerk forever." he said with a laugh.

"You love her Ceal?" Ruby asked with an intrigued smile. All the group got out of the mage was an annoyed low growl as he kept walking forward.

"That's a yes." Razico said with a laugh. Moka looked at the boy curiously then smiled gently at him.

"She's lucky to have you Ceal, it sounds like you've really been protective of her." she said gently.

"Yeah, and of Complica too. I think he's got a thing for butterfly girls." Render said with a chuckle. He was instantly yanked into the air and swung around by a black tentacle, the group looking with surprise to seeing the boy swung around against the walls and ceiling with a yell. Ceal kept walking forward as Complica looked back curiously to seeing Render being smacked around the hallway before Apoch formed her blade and cut him down. The boy landed on the ground with a thud as the dark limb vanished back into the rift.

"Render, are you alright?" Apoch asked worriedly as she knelt down next to him. The boy nodded in a daze as he was slowly helped to his feet.

"Yeah…I'm alright. Heh heh…I may have pushed him too far…I think." he said with a small shrug.

"What was your first clue?" Leon said flatly. The group looked ahead to seeing Complica walking with Ceal down the hall, the chronofly looking ahead as her wings fluttered a bit behind her while she held onto his reptilian hand.

* * *

Yukari laid down on her sleeping mat with a soft sigh, the girl pulling her covers up as she looked up at the ceiling. She was dressed with a white t-shirt and underwear as she tried to rest her mind from her long day. Glancing to her side she saw Arial sitting on her mat, the angel dressed in her normal clothing still as her wings glittered a bit behind her from the moonlight coming through a nearby window. She was rolling her lollipop around in her mouth with a low growl, the girl having her legs held up to her chest as she was looking down with a focused expression. Yukari looked at the temperamental snow angel worriedly then over to see Complica looking down at her sleeping mat for the night, the girl dressed in a simple white t-shirt that went down to her thighs and underwear as well. After a pause she walked towards the doorway with a saddened expression.

"Complica? Where are you going?" Yukari asked.

"I can't sleep right now, I'm just going to go walk around for a bit." Complica said softly before opening the door. Arial looked to her then quickly stood up.

"I could go for a walk as well." she said simply. Complica glanced to her then walked out, the two angels leaving the room as Yukari watched with concern.

Outside in the halls the two angels split up and walked away from each other, with Complica looking down at the ground with a saddened gaze while Arial walked away with a focused expression. The snow angel looked around carefully as she walked silently through the hall, the girl peeking around the corners as the hallways were barely lit with low flame lamps. She looked around carefully then saw Dark walking out of one of the rooms, the boy dressed in his jeans and black t-shirt still as he had a blank expression as always. She smiled and walked towards him, the boy looking to her with a curious smile.

"Arial? What are you doing up?" he asked gently.

"I couldn't sleep, I was…just going for a small walk." she said softly. Dark smiled a bit and kneeled down as she looked down bashfully.

"It's late Arial, you've had quite a tiring day. You should try to get some rest." he said softly. The girl smiled at him gently as she walked closer to him.

"I'd sleep better…if I was sleeping next to you." she said softly. The boy smiled a bit and hugged her, the demon not getting that she meant it literally.

"I'll be here when you wake up Arial, I promise. Get some rest, you've earned it after going through so much today." he said leaning back to face her. The girl nodded and smiled gently at him.

"Whatever you say Dark." she said, the girl looking down with a timid expression as he held her gently. He smiled a bit and kissed her cheek, then stood up and walked away. The girl blushed brightly as she held a hand to her cheek, her eyes wide and her heart racing. She wavered a bit then smiled brightly, the girl looking back to seeing the boy rounding the nearby corner.

"Dark…kissed me. Dark kissed me, he kissed me, he kissed me!" she said quietly with joy, the girl hopping around a bit. She stopped and heard voices from around the corner, the snow angel quickly running over quietly and listening.

"Still up man?" Rason asked curiously.

"Just getting Mizore some cold water, she's getting a little warm." Dark said simply. Arial blinked then narrowed her eyes as she looked back down the hall to where Dark had come out of a room.

"Well don't you two lovebirds stay up too late, we have a busy day tomorrow." Rason said with a slight laugh before footsteps were heard of them walking away. Arial clenched her fists with anger then raced towards the door where her demon had come from, the girl slowly opening it and peeking inside. The room was darkened to near pitch black as the window blinds were closed, the room having a cold chill inside of it as well. Arial narrowed her eyes and walked in, the girl closing the door behind her.

"Dark?" Mizore's voice asked softly. The window blinds were drawn up and light was seen coming into the room, illuminating the small table to the side, the dresser and closet door to the other, and the bed in the corner that had a snow girl tied to the bed frame with her belt. She had her white bra and white panties on still along with her stripped leggings, the girl's hands bound together at the top of the bed as she had been busy with her demon before he left to get her a drink to cool off. Mizore's eyes widened as she saw Arial glaring at her, the snow angel's wings glittering in the moonlight as the girl's eyes were cold.

"Arial." Mizore breathed out, the girl's hands shifting around a bit as she couldn't move. Arial walked up towards the bed then climbed up onto it, the girl looking down at the bound snow girl with a cold glare. Mizore glanced to the door then to Arial with worry, the snow angel tilting her head slightly as she scowled down at the girl.

"What…what are you doing?" Mizore asked worriedly. Arial slowly put a hand over her mouth and formed her other hand into her ice claw, with Mizore watching with wide eyes. She aimed the frozen claw down with a pointed finger touching above Mizore's heart. The snow maiden whimpered something and shook her head as Arial held a hand over her mouth.

"Dark is mine, do you understand me?" she asked coldly. Mizore tried to move her hands, the girl unable to budge as her belt held her tightly.

"Do you understand?" Arial asked as her frozen claw pushed down slightly, the snow girl whimpering as the tip pierced her skin. Mizore looked at Arial with fear as the snow angel held her hand over the girl's mouth tightly.

"Dark is my demon, he's going to be my husband, and only _I'm_ going to have his mark over my heart. Do you hear me?" she said harshly as she pushed down her with her claw more. Mizore yelped a bit and looked at the snow angel with fright as she squirmed a bit on the bed.

"If you kiss him, I'll claw off your lips. If you touch him, I'll cut off your hand. If you take his seed into you, I'll carve it out of you. He belongs to me, everything about him is mine." Arial said with anger. Mizore glanced to the doorway then back to Arial with wide eyes, the girl unable to move at all. Arial leaned in closer and narrowed her eyes at the snow maiden.

"You don't deserve him, nobody else could ever be worthy of my demon." she said with hatred. She then held her frozen claw up towards Mizore's face, the girl looking to it with wide eyes.

"This is your only warning bitch, back off from my husband." Arial said firmly. Mizore looked at the claw with wide eyes then to Arial, the angel glancing up to seeing the shimmer of the ring on Mizore's finger. Arial retracted her snow claw then reached up and yanked the ring off of the snow maiden's hand.

"Like hell you're going to marry him." she said with anger. Mizore whimpered something and shook her head as Arial tightened her grip around her mouth.

"The only one that could ever have this ring, is me." she said firmly. She got off the bed as Mizore looked at her with disbelief.

"You can't do this Arial, don't you see that he doesn't love you like that? He think's you're like his mother, not like you're his wife. You're his guardian angel, he's always thought of you like that." she said shaking her head. Arial narrowed her eyes as she kept the ring in her grip tightly.

"Then as his guardian angel, I forbid you to marry him." she said sternly. Mizore looked at her with shock as the angel started to walk away.

"No…you can't do this." Mizore said as she struggled to move in her bonds. Arial walked over to the blinds and reached up for them.

"He's mine snow girl, now and forever." she said before she closed the blinds, the room going dark as Mizore looked around franticly.

"No, no! Arial!" she cried out as she tried to free herself. She whimpered and shook her head, the girl feeling that her ring from her demon was no longer on her hand. She thrashed around on the bed as she struggled not to break down.

_This isn't happening, this isn't happening! That girl's no angel, she's a goddamned demon!_

Arial walked out into the hall and quietly closed the door behind her, the girl looking down with a focused gaze as she put the crystal ring in her pocket. She glanced back to the door then walked down the hall, the girl having a slight glare in her eyes as her wings fluttered once behind her.

"He's mine, now and forever." she said quietly to herself.

* * *

Complica walked down the darkened hallways with a saddened expression, the girl trying not to cry as she couldn't stop thinking about her sister that was trapped in the darkness. She finally found help to try to save her, however they were all trapped in the human world while her sister was supposedly alone in the dark world. The girl wiped a tear away then knocked on a door, the girl looking down worriedly as she waited. After a pause the door opened and Ceal looked down to her.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep. I can't stop thinking about my sister and the dark world she's trapped in and we're trapped here and we need to save her but we can't and I can't sleep knowing that she's suffering and we're all here resting and we can't get to her and this is horrible and I'm trying not to cry but I can't help it I miss my sister so much." she whimpered as she rubbed a few tears away from her eyes. Ceal just looked at her with a blank expression then raised an eyebrow a bit.

"I suppose with all that swirling around in your head sleep may elude you." he said flatly.

"Can…can I sleep with you Ceal? Please?" she asked looking up to him with pleading eyes.

"Wouldn't you rather sleep with your snow angel friend?" Ceal asked glancing down the hall.

"Not when she's upset like this because when she's upset she keeps making the room colder and even in heaven it's uncomfortable when she keeps making the room colder during our sleepovers because then it's so hard to sleep when I'm so cold but she never notices and she never listens because she's so stubborn but don't tell her I said that because she's my friend it's just that I can't sleep near her when she's like this." Complica said worriedly. Ceal just looked at her for a moment with a blank expression.

"Well, I suppose that answers that question." he said glancing back to his room.

"Please Ceal?" Complica begged. The boy paused for a moment then looked up with a dull expression.

"As long as you stop talking so much, fine." he said before walking back into his room. Complica nodded then walked in after him, the girl closing the door behind her. She looked around his room as the boy walked over to a bed and laid down on it, the mage reading a book as a lamp next to him was lit on a small table.

"You're reading? I like to read too, what are you reading? Is it a bedtime story or a school report or a bestselling novel or a fanfiction or-"

"I said if you stop talking so much." Ceal said while still reading his book. Complica nodded worriedly then looked down, the girl then walking over towards the bed with a timid expression. The bed was about a queen size, with the mage sitting next to the edge of it near his table on the right side. The girl gently crawled up onto the bed and laid next to him on another pillow, the girl next to the wall where the blinds were pulled over the window. She looked at the boy curiously as he kept reading with a blank expression. After a pause he slowly glanced over to her.

"What?" he asked.

"Thank you for letting me sleep with you." Complica said with a gentle smile. The boy just looked at her for a moment then back to his book.

"Sure." he said as he turned a page in the book. She looked at him curiously as she lay on top of the covers.

"Was I really a bad person for going back in time?" she asked softly. Ceal glanced to her as the girl had a worried expression.

"I don't think you're a bad person Complica, you just made a mistake with your life." he said simply.

"I know, I just wanted to see him again. He was the first boyfriend I ever had, I loved him." she said looking down with worry. Ceal looked at her for a moment then back to his book.

"Sounds like you loved the idea of having a boyfriend more, and you didn't want to let that go. You were young Complica, you both were. He may have been the one for you, or just another star in your sky. Either way, ending away your life to spend one more day with him was a mistake no matter how you look at it." he said calmly. The girl whimpered and nodded as she closed her eyes.

"I thought he and I…oh he's going to hate me. He's going to hate himself knowing what our love did to me. How could I have made such a stupid mistake? I threw away my life for him." she said before burying her face into his side. The boy glanced to her as she held onto his arm, the girl crying softly as she lay next to him.

"We've all made mistakes Complica." he said calmly. The girl slowly looked up to him then down to his reptilian hand.

"That's part of life. What matters is what you learn from them, and what you choose to do differently to avoid them again." he said as she ran a hand gently along his reptilian limb. She looked down as she wiped a tear from her eye then looked back to him.

"But I'm dead now, it's all over for me." she said softly.

"You may be dead, but you're here aren't you? You still exist, both here and in heaven when you return. You still can learn and exist in your afterlife." he said calmly. She looked down with worry as he returned to reading his book, the girl then lying back down next to him.

"But what do I do about him when I see him again? What do I say? What do I do?" she asked nervously.

"Do the same thing you'll do when you see your sister Falla again. Assure him that what you did wasn't his fault, that you made a mistake. After that, it's up to you what you wish to do." he said with a shrug. Complica nodded then slowly closed her eyes.

"Ceal?" she said softly. The boy glanced to her as she gently held onto him.

"Falla's lucky to have a boyfriend like you." she said quietly. He looked at her for a moment then back to his book, the boy not saying a word.

After a while all had fallen quiet inside the large building in the villa. Ceal was lying down on his bed as he looked up with a calm gaze, the boy then glancing down to seeing Complica sleeping quietly next to him. She shivered a bit as she held onto his arm, the girl and boy both above the covers as she had fallen asleep holding onto him. The boy slowly freed his arm then focused his magic as he sat up, with Xarai's limbs then sifting through the wall above the bed. The dark limbs slowly and gently lifted Complica up as Ceal pulled the covers down, the girl then being gently laid down on the bed by the dark limbs. The mage pulled the covers up over the chronofly as the limbs vanished into the wall, the mage watching the girl slowly stop shivering and then sleeping quietly. Slowly he moved his reptilian hand and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face, the boy then lying back down on the bed with a blank expression. He lifted his reptilian hand and looked at it with a dull gaze.

_We all make mistakes Complica, some of them just make us stronger in the end._


	14. Sleep Well

Up in the night sky the moon was seen behind a few clouds that were gently rolling by. Moka was gazing out at the sky through her window, the vampire sitting on her bed in her room within the large villa. She sighed quietly as she pictured her boyfriend's smile, the same smile that he always had whenever he looked at her. They were separated, by both the sealed barrier between the monster and human realms and also by him being confined within another world known as Paradise deep within the monster realm.

_I can't stand being so far away from him like this, I never thought I could miss him this much._

**_I'm not overjoyed by this either, but we must remain strong. We'll find a way back to him, there isn't a force out there that will keep us from our mate._**

_I know, I just miss being with him. I would give anything to see him again._

**_As would I. Try to get some rest, we'll figure out what to do in the morning._**

Moka nodded then laid back down on her bed, the vampire looking up at the ceiling with saddened eyes. Her body ached to feel the touch of her mate, as her mind couldn't stop thinking about him at all.

_Tsukune…I hope you're doing ok in Paradise still._

**_You know our Tsukune, nothing will stop him when he puts his mind to something._**

_He really is incredible that way. Fairy Tale, Alucard, even time itself; he's risen above everything that stood before him._

**_I wouldn't expect any less from our mate. He'll overcome his bloodlust and come back out to us, rest assured. We just need to make sure he has a world to come back out into._**

Moka nodded slowly as her expression became more focused. She wouldn't allow the two worlds to erupt into a war, or to let this mysterious monster in the darkness raise more chaos with his growing army. Her mate would come back to her, she was sure of it, and she would do everything in her power to make sure they had a future together when he did.

_Tsukune has his battle to deal with…_

**_And we have ours. We'll find a way back to our world, we'll get our friend out of the darkness, then we'll deal with whoever is behind all of this._**

As the vampire remained wide awake while going over every obstacle standing before the group again there were others in the building that were also unable to sleep so easily. In another guestroom Rason and Kurumu were lying in bed together, the succubus resting her head on her angel's chest as they both were kept awake by their growing concern for their captured friend.

"I can't believe Luna's been in that dark place all this time. All this time we were at school, and the festival, and during Dark's proposal, and even when we were in the human world…oh god Rason, she must be suffering so much." Kurumu said before burying her face into his chest. The angel held her worriedly as the girl sobbed quietly.

"We need to hope she eluded capture in there, hopefully she's still alright." Rason said with a tone of remorse.

"But what if she's not? You know what that sick bastard's going to do to her…she's going to be used as a breeder for more chronoflies, she'll be violated for the rest of her life." Kurumu said with sorrow. Rason held her gently and looked at her with concern.

"You can't think like that, we have to hope that she's still ok. That's all we can do right now." he said softly. Kurumu held onto him and whimpered quietly, the girl nodding slowly as she prayed with all her might that her friend was still ok.

"Luna…" she said softly. Rason looked up at the ceiling with worried eyes as he held his girl close.

_Luna…please be alright. Please. We're going to come for you, I promise._

As the angel from heaven held his girlfriend while trying to hope that his friend wasn't being raped to death, another angel from heaven was looking out his window up at the night sky. Gabriel was sitting on his bed in his room as he watched the clouds gently roll by overhead, the angel having a remorseful expression as he too was concerned about Luna's fate.

"I'm so sorry Luna, please, I didn't know what that thing was either. I never should have brought you up there." he said with regret. He remembered the last time he saw the chronofly, right after having taken her up into the heavenly realm.

_"What is it?" she asked as she glanced away with a soft smile as the angel looked at her curiously._

He looked down as he held his head with his hands, the boy seeing her smile clear as day.

"I can't stop seeing her…everywhere I go there she is." he said softly.

_"Gabriel."_

"The guilt is unbearable, it's as if she's haunting me now." he said shaking his head.

_"Gabriel."_

"I'm sorry! I didn't know, I didn't know! Please forgive me Luna!" he said as he gripped his hair.

"Gabriel."

He looked up with a jump, the boy staring with wide eyes at seeing Luna standing in his room. She was wearing her Yokai Academy uniform, her butterfly wings fluttering gently behind her as she looked at the boy with a longing gaze.

"L…Luna?" he breathed out. She slowly walked towards him and smiled softly, the girl gently resting one of her hands on his cheek.

"Gabriel." she said softly. She slowly moved forward and sat atop the boy, the angel leaning back as she straddled his lap and looked at him with loving eyes.

"Is…is it really you?" he breathed out. The girl leaned in and kissed the angel, their eyes closing as her wings fluttered a bit behind her. He sat there stunned, the angel's mind going blank as the world around him seemed to fade away. After the kiss broke he paused for a moment then slowly opened his eyes.

"Gabriel…" she said gently as she held his cheeks with her hands, her green eyes gazing into his.

"Luna…" he said softly. She smiled softly at him as he sat there staring at her with wonder. Before he could say a word suddenly she looked at him with fright as black chains wrapped around her arms and body, the girl being bound and pulled back towards a dark void.

"GABRIEL!" she cried out as she was yanked back into the darkness, the girl screaming as she vanished from view.

"Luna!" he yelled out as he ran toward the void, the boy dashing through it and crashing out through his bedroom door. He tumbled into the hall as the broken bits of the door flew about, the angel collapsing onto the ground in a daze as he groaned a bit.

"Gabriel? Are you alright?" Ahakon said from nearby. The angel looked over to seeing the young mage running over to him.

"Ahakon?" he asked as he slowly got up.

"What happened, why did you just charge through your door like that?" the mage asked looking at the broken entryway with puzzlement. Gabriel stood up and looked back to where he had crashed through then around as he came to his senses.

"I…um…sorry, just…a bad dream." he said quietly. Ahakon looked at the angel with concern then glanced to the broken door.

"About Luna?" he asked softly. Gabriel looked at him with worry then down as the mage nodded a bit.

"I heard you cry out her name." the boy said softly. Gabriel nodded a bit and looked up with a worried expression.

"I keep seeing and hearing her, I feel so guilty about having taken her into heaven to look at that damned rift. This is all my fault, she wouldn't be in that dark world at all if I never would have brought her up into heaven." he said with regret.

"You didn't know what was on the other side of that rift, nobody did, not even the Almighty. She wanted to help, it was her choice to go in, not yours. You didn't do anything wrong Gabriel." Ahakon said gently. Gabriel looked at him with worry then down as the mage showed a remorseful expression.

"As mad as Rason was, he knows it wasn't your fault either. Arial and Complica sneaking down here, that's all on you. But Luna going into that thing wasn't your fault." Ahakon said, the boy looking down as well as he was worried about Luna like the rest of the group. Gabriel sighed and nodded a bit then glanced to the mage.

"What are you doing up anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I couldn't sleep, I just wanted to go for a small walk to clear my mind." Ahakon said with a small shrug. Gabriel nodded then looked back towards his room.

"Well, don't stay up too late. Something tells me we're going to have a busy day tomorrow." he said with a bit of worry.

"That's how all my days are, I'm starting to get used to it. See you in the morning Gabriel." Ahakon said as he started to walk away.

"Sleep well friend." Gabriel said, the angel then walking back into his room. He sat down on his bed and looked up with worried eyes, his mind still thinking about the missing chronofly. He looked down as he closed his eyes, the angel seeing images of the chronofly flashing before him. The angel sighed then laid back down on his bed as he tried to relax his mind, the angel knowing sleep would likely elude him a bit longer as he had one thought swirling around in his mind.

_Luna…_

As the angel attempted to get some rest after a tiring day Ahakon walked down the hall with a solemn gaze. After a while he stopped and glanced to the side as he heard a girl's quiet whimpers on the other side of a door that was slightly opened. The boy walked over and peeked inside, his eyes barely making out the darkened room as the blinds were closed inside.

"Sister…" Ran said quietly, the girl's voice being heard within the dark room. Ahakon showed a concerned expression then looked down.

"Your sister couldn't have been the one that destroyed your home Ran, it had to have been someone else." he said softly. He turned to walk away before the girl spoke up again.

"Ahakon…" Ran said softly, the mage halting then looking into the room with a curious eye.

"Don't leave me." she said gently.

"Ran? Are you awake?" he asked curiously. There was a long pause as the boy looked around inside the darkened room.

"Ahakon…" the siren said again, her voice seeming strained a bit. The boy slowly opened the door and quietly walked in, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark a bit. He saw the bed over by the side of the room where a girl was tossing around slightly. Ran was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt and underwear while her glasses were on the small table next to her bed, the girl seeming to be dreaming as she moved around a bit. Ahakon slowly walked over as she whimpered again, the girl tossing around as her dream apparently was causing her some distress.

"Don't leave me…please…" she said quietly.

"She's dreaming." the boy said quietly as he saw the girl talking in her sleep. He showed a concerned expression and shook his head.

"But why would she ever think I would leave her? I would never abandon her, none of us would." he said curiously.

"I need you…" the siren said quietly, the girl rolling her head over to face him as she was still asleep. He looked at her curiously as the girl laid there before him.

"She really does think I'm her hero." he said quietly with wonder.

"Please…I love you…" she said softly as a few tears started to drop from her cheeks. The boy looked at her with a bit of surprise as the siren appeared to be crying in her sleep.

"Ahakon…I love you so much." she whimpered quietly. The boy just looked at her with a bit of a stunned expression then showed concern.

"Oh boy…" he said quietly, the mage having always suspected she might have felt that way about him.

"Please…don't leave me…" she said quietly.

"Ran…" the boy said softly. He didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, but it was more than apparent that he wasn't just her hero. He sighed quietly then looked at the sleeping girl with a gentle gaze.

"Ran, I'm sorry. I just can't say those words back to you. Please, don't waste your love on me." he said quietly.

"Ahakon…" the siren said quietly as a few more tears dropped from her cheeks. The boy looked at her with a gentle expression and slowly wiped one of the tears away.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. He blinked then looked back to seeing Yukari walking past the door, the witch looking around curiously as she was dressed in her white t-shirt and a pair of gray shorts. Ahakon jumped a bit in surprise, his finger then brushing against Ran's nose. She flinched a bit then slowly opened her eyes, the girl's vision dark and blurry.

"Wha…" she said softly as she slowly sat up. She looked around then saw a dark silhouette near her bed, the girl jumping with surprise and wide eyes.

"Who's there, who are you?" she said urgently. She reached for her glasses before Ahakon grabbed her hand, the girl crying out before he tackled her down onto the bed while holding his other hand over her mouth. He looked back to seeing Yukari stopping outside the door and looking around the hallway with a curious expression.

_If she finds out I was in Ran's room like this she'll kill me!_

Ran thrashed around a bit as Ahakon struggled to keep her down, the boy pulling her hand around to the side of her head while he held down on her mouth with his other hand. The girl started hitting him with her other hand as she struggled to get free, the girl's muffled screams barely being heard as she kicked around. Ahakon looked to seeing Yukari just standing outside in the hall looking around, the witch blinking then glancing towards Ran's open door. The mage showed a frightful expression as he imagined how Yukari would bury him alive for being in the siren's room at this hour. He looked around quickly then down to Ran, the girl letting out muffled cries as she tried to free her other hand from his grip. The boy hesitated then leaned in close to her ear.

"Stop right now." he said in a hushed tone. The girl whimpered then looked at the silhouette with wide eyes, the girl unable to make out who was on top of her. He brought her hand around and held it over her mouth, the boy grabbing her other and doing the same. He looked back to seeing Yukari glancing around slowly while being seen in the soft light from the hallway. Ran's heavy breathing was heard through her nose as Ahakon held her down firmly, the mage looking back to her as she was staring up at her assailant with wide eyes.

_Great, I've terrified her to death now. Way to go Ahakon._

"Just be quiet." Ahakon said quietly, the boy holding the siren's hands over her mouth. He glanced over and saw Yukari slowly walking towards Ran's door, the witch peering into the darkness with a careful eye. Ahakon trembled a bit and looked down to Ran, the siren staring up at the silhouette that was holding her down.

_If Yukari sees me like this I'm dead meat! I just wanted to make sure Ran was ok, not end up like this!_

Ahakon glanced around then looked down to Ran with a careful eye. He blinked then leaned in closer, the girl trembling as she saw the silhouette getting larger and closer.

"Don't move, don't make a sound." he said quietly. The girl stared at him with wide eyes, the girl feeling frightened and confused as to what was happening. Ahakon looked over to see Yukari peering into the room with a curious eye before looking back down the hall. After a pause the witch walked off and out of sight, the girl's soft footsteps slowly fading away. Ahakon breathed out in relief then looked down to Ran.

_Great…now what do I do?_

He looked around worriedly as he was stuck holding down the frightened siren. He wouldn't be able to run out in time before the girl either screamed in terror, or screamed and killed him with the sonic blast. After a pause he slowly leaned closer to the girl, the siren leaning back into her pillow more with a whimper.

"I'm going to let go of your hands now, don't scream." he said quietly. The girl slowly nodded as she kept her eyes locked onto the darkened figure on top of her. He slowly removed his hands and leaned back, the boy watching her carefully as she kept staring at him. After a pause she parted her hands a bit as she was breathing a bit more heavily.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"I…um…" Ahakon said quietly. He looked around quickly then down to the siren. Ran looked at the silhouette closely as she slowly moved her hands to her sides.

"What do you want? Who are you?" she asked fearfully. He gulped and glanced to the doorway.

_This isn't going to end well, how am I going to get her to forget about this?_

"I…I'm…" he said unsurely. Ran looked at the figure closely then with a bit of wonder.

"Ahakon?" she said softly. The boy froze in place and stared at her with wide eyes. Ran looked at the figure closely then reached over towards her glasses.

"Ahakon, is that you?" she asked. Ahakon quickly grabbed her hands and pinned them down by the sides of her head, the girl looking with surprise as the boy franticly looked around for a way out.

"Uh, well…um…" he stuttered. He looked down at the girl worriedly as she tilted her head a bit. After a pause he glanced to the doorway then back to the siren.

"It is you…isn't it." she said quietly. The boy flinched a bit then looked away with worry.

_I'm dead._

"Yeah…it's me." he said softly. The girl opened her mouth a bit with surprise then looked closely at the figure.

"Ahakon? What are you doing here?" she asked quietly. The boy paused for a moment then looked at her worriedly. He glanced around quickly then smiled nervously at her.

"I'm not here. You're…dreaming. Yeah, you're dreaming Ran." he said shakily. The girl looked at the figure curiously then glanced to his hands holding hers down.

"I am?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, this is your dream, can't you tell?" he asked with a curious smile. The girl looked at the figure holding her down then over to one of his hands that was holding hers down.

"This isn't…exactly how my dreams normally go with you." she said looking back to him with wonder. He looked around worriedly as the girl shifted around a bit.

"Well, that's because-"

"You usually tie me up with rope or something, not…hold me down forcibly." she said with a small smile. He blinked then slowly glanced down to the girl.

"W…what?" he said with surprise.

"I don't mind though, this is kind of fun too." she said softly. The boy looked up with a nervous expression as the girl shifted around a bit under him.

_I did not need to know that, I really did not need to know that._

"So…what happens now?" Ran asked softly. The boy looked down to her with a nervous expression as she smiled bashfully at him.

"Well…uh…" he said unsurely. She looked at him curiously as the figure remained motionless for a while.

"Aren't you going to…touch me?" she asked softly. The boy trembled a bit and looked up with closed eyes, the mage trying not to even think about the girl he was straddling right now like that.

"I…well…" he said nervously.

"If this is my dream, then how come you're not having your way with me?" she asked curiously.

"Well, that's because…" he said nervously. He slowly looked down to the girl as she was looking at him worriedly. He sighed then let go of her hands as he leaned back.

"Because this isn't that kind of dream." he said softly.

"What do you mean? What kind of dream is this then?" she asked reaching over to her glasses. She put them on and looked at the boy with wonder as he had a remorseful expression.

"It's the kind where we talk, about what's going on in your heart." he said gently.

"I don't understand, in my dreams you've never talked about such things." she said looking up at him curiously.

"That's because this is a special dream. Ran, you need to understand that I love Yukari, that she's my girlfriend." he said with concern. She looked at him with worry and shook her head.

"No…no no no. This…this isn't a dream…" she said shakily. The boy looked at her worriedly as she trembled a bit.

"This isn't a dream, it's a nightmare. Don't talk about Yukari, not now. Not here. Please don't mention her!" she cried out as she reached forward and hugged the mage, the boy being taken down and held tightly as the siren tried not to cry. Ahakon tried freeing himself as his head was right next to hers, the girl holding onto him with a tight grip.

"Please, I'll do whatever you want! Just love me Ahakon, love me and nobody else." she whimpered.

"Ran, calm down." Ahakon said as he tried to pull himself back up.

"I love you so much Ahakon, don't leave me. You can't leave me in my dreams too, it's all I have left for us!" she pleaded. The boy looked ahead with a gentle gaze as the girl held onto him tightly.

"All I have left for us is my dreams, don't break my heart here too. Please." she said as she cried a bit.

"Ran…" he said closing his eyes. The girl cried a bit before he leaned back, the boy looking at her with a remorseful expression as she choked back her sobs.

"I would never leave you. Either here or in the real world, I would never abandon you." he said softly. He gently held one hand to her cheek, the girl slowly nuzzling against it as she looked at the boy with pleading eyes.

"I love you Ahakon. I can't help it. I don't care if you're younger than I am, I don't care if I'm a weird girl. You're not just my hero, you're everything to me. Please, I need you." she said worriedly. The mage looked at her with sympathetic eyes as he realized what kind of dream she was having before he woke her up, why she was calling out for him not to leave her. She had been dreaming of this same conversation, about him rejecting her love.

"Ran, you'll always have me. As your friend. I'll even be your hero if you want, but I just can't be your love." he said softly.

"But you are." Ran said sitting up, the mage looking at her with worry as she held onto him around his waist while he was on her lap.

"I've always known it since I saw you fight Alucard. With the way you saved me from that monster in the pool, and even how you saved me from being taken back by the darkness. I've always known it to be true, you can't tell me otherwise Ahakon." she said worriedly.

"Please Ran, I don't want to hurt you like this. I really don't, but you need to understand, I love Yukari." he said softly.

"But I love you!" Ran cried out, the girl then pulling him into a kiss and holding him tightly. The boy went wide eyed as she held him close, the girl crying softly as she kissed him. After the kiss ended the girl looked at him with pleading eyes.

"It broke my heart when I had to charm you for my old master, I hated myself for having to have done that to you. I was stupid, I just wanted my sisters to be free. I fooled myself into thinking it would be alright, that I was doing what I had to. I hated myself for ever having done that to you. But even after I did that, you still set me free, you still protected me." she said softly. Ahakon looked at her with remorse as the girl shook her head a bit.

"Please, I'm begging you. If this is my dream, if this really isn't real, then please don't break my heart here too. It's already in pieces knowing that Yukari's out there, that she has you all to herself. It kills me knowing that when I wake up I'm going to have to put up with her hanging all over you and kissing you." she said shakily.

"Ran…" Ahakon said with worry.

"All I have left for us is my dreams Ahakon." she said with a tear dropping from her cheek. Ahakon looked at her with remorse then down. After a moment he gently pushed the girl down onto the bed, the mage taking her glasses and setting them on the table.

"Ahakon?" she asked quietly. He got up off of her and stood by the edge of the bed, the boy looking at the siren with a soft smile.

"Close your eyes." he said gently. The girl looked at him with wonder then closed her eyes, the siren sniffling a bit as she tried to calm down. The boy sighed quietly then leaned in closer, then kissed her on the lips. She breathed out softly and kissed back, the girl slowly calming down as she felt the world around her fading away. After the kiss ended he leaned over to her ear.

"Sweet dreams Ran." he said quietly. The girl laid there in silence as his words and kiss were all her mind could think of. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Ahakon?" she asked quietly. She grabbed her glasses and put them on, the girl sitting up on the side of her bed and looking around quickly. The room was empty with the door opened only a crack. She breathed out then looked down with a gentle gaze.

"Ahakon…why must my dreams remain just as dreams?" she said softly.

Outside in the hallway Ahakon was leaning against the wall next to the siren's door, the mage looking down with a remorseful expression. After a moment he slowly stood up and walked down the hall towards his room, the boy hoping he didn't hurt the siren's heart any more.

"I'm sorry." he said softly before he rounded a corner.

"Sorry for what?" Yukari asked from in front of him. He jumped a bit then looked over to see Yukari looking at him curiously.

"Yukari. Um, I was just…what I meant was…" he stammered. She looked at him curiously then behind her to see Arial walking down the hall towards them.

"Arial, there you are. I was looking for you, where did you go?" she asked.

"I just went for a walk, I already told you that, remember?" Arial asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I was getting worried when neither of you came back. Where's Complica?" Yukari asked looking around.

"How should I know?" Arial said with a shrug as she started to walk past them. Ahakon and Yukari watched the snow angel walk down the hall then round the corner, the two then looking to each other with worry.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day." Yukari said looking down.

"Shouldn't we just tell Dark what Arial did? He should know what really happened to Mizore." Ahakon said with concern.

"I don't know which would be worse; Dark after he learns that his sacred guardian angel is a psychotic snow angel from hell, or Arial when she tears _us_ apart for tattling on her." Yukari said with a nervous expression. Ahakon glanced back down the hall then looked back to his girlfriend, the witch looking down with a worried expression. She sighed then started walking down the hall past him.

"Well I'd better go make sure she stays in our room tonight, Mizore deserves a good night's rest after what she's been through." she said softly. Ahakon nodded and grabbed her hand as she passed him, the girl pausing and looking to him curiously.

"Sleep well Yukari." he said, the boy giving her a small kiss on the lips before walking off towards his room. Yukari smiled softly and blushed a bit as she watched her boyfriend walk away.

"You too Ahakon." she said before walking off towards her room. As the young witch headed back to her room to keep an eye on Arial and while Ahakon walked back towards his room hoping things between him, Yukari, and Ran wouldn't become a problem, two others were wide awake and having a very important discussion regarding the day's events.

"So, in conclusion, I'm right and you're wrong. Any questions?" Render asked as he glanced to his friend, the two sharing a guestroom that had two beds, two closets, a table, a window, and two mages from the human world that were expressing a difference of opinion on something.

"Yes, how the hell did you take our topic on what are we going to do tomorrow and switch it to a 20 minute discussion about how you think Apoch is more endowed then Astreal?" Leon said tiredly, the mage lying in his bed looking up with a hand covering his eyes. Render chuckled as he glanced to him, the battlemage lying on his own bed on the other side of the room with a cool smile.

"Because I feel we need to remain focused during these troubled times, and in order to do that you need to finally admit that I'm right and move on, otherwise this is going to be eating away inside of you. Once you get this weight off your chest you'll think more clearly like I do." he said proudly.

"I pray the day I would 'think like you do' never comes." Leon said shaking his head.

"Just admit I'm right man, seriously, the evidence was right before you. Apoch has a more…voluptuous figure to her, while Astreal is still waiting to blossom into a woman. There's nothing wrong with that, or any reason to be ashamed, it's just the truth." Render said with a shrug.

"For the last time Render, they are _exactly_ the same. The only things that are different are their hair styles and eye colors. And preference of magic." Leon said looking to him. Render looked at his friend for a moment then raised an eyebrow.

"So they're _not_ exactly the same, is what you're saying." he said flatly.

"Don't you think we have better things to be discussing here? Falla's sister is trapped in that dark world, the human race is declaring war on the monster world, we're trapped here _in_ the human world, there are two souls down here that could be wiped from existence if we don't get them back home, one of those souls is out of her mind, and would you focus here and pay attention to what I'm saying?" he yelled out as he looked over to seeing his friend looking up with a carefree smile. Render blinked then glanced to Leon with a curious eye.

"What? Did you say something?" he asked.

"I'm going to kill you in your sleep. I'm going to do it and everybody will understand that I had to." Leon said with a dull expression. Render looked at him puzzled as Leon laid back on his bed with a sigh of annoyance.

"You know, for somebody who has a new girlfriend you don't seem too thrilled. I mean, we rescued all of their friends, we found a safe place to rest. Things aren't all that bad." Render said simply. Leon rolled his eyes and glanced away.

"As happy as I am that I have Astreal, I still can't ignore all the problems coming our way right now. Losing another girl to a bullet isn't something I want to go through again." he said. Render sat up and smiled a bit at his friend.

"C'mon, I think we can manage this just fine. We've been through a lot worse." he said with a laugh.

"When have we been through worse?" Leon said looking over to him with a puzzled expression. Render looked up in thought then back to his friend with a weak smile.

'Well, the night you made those homemade fireworks was a close one, we nearly died." he said with a shrug.

"_You_ made those things, and this is a bit worse." Leon said flatly. Render looked down with concern as Leon closed his eyes and breathed out.

"This is a lot worse." he said softly.

"You know, it was always the three of us. Me, you, and Selena. And I loved traveling around the monster world in search of treasure and adventure, no question. But as much fun as I had getting into fights with hideous treasure keepers and eluding death from all the deadly traps, I always wanted what you had, a girlfriend." he said softly. Leon glanced to him as the battlemage laid back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"It was so weird. You had her all the time, and all I had were girls I never even said hello to trying to maul me with affection wherever I went." he said softly.

"You poor thing." Leon said flatly.

"Well, yeah. I didn't know those girls, didn't know why they liked me, and frankly was a bit scared that they would tear me apart with their love. Even though they all said they wanted me, it just didn't seem real. I wanted a real girlfriend, like you had." Render said softly. Leon looked at him curiously as Render closed his eyes.

"Apoch lied to us, tried to steal from us, and pretended to like me just to get closer to us. I originally though she was pretty cool, then I thought she was just like all the other heartless monsters out there after what she did." he said softly. He smiled a bit then looked up at the ceiling.

"But when she was being used by that other witch, I couldn't stand it. Though I gotta admit it was pretty awesome to see her in action with her blade…even though she was trying to kill me with it." he said with a shrug. Leon smiled a bit as Render looked over to him.

"Then she wanted to be with me, for real. She was ok with me opening Pandora's Box, and trusted me. It was like…I fought for her, and won." he said sitting up. Leon nodded and looked down, the mage thinking about how he fought to keep Astreal alive as well, and how the two had grown closer from it.

"I finally got a girlfriend too, one that likes me for who I am. She's beautiful and can handle herself in a fight, and one hell of a kisser too. So tell me, how could I not be happy right now that I have her? How could I not be thrilled that I have something like this with her?" Render asked with a curious smile.

"You know, you're not supposed to make sense like that. It's just not your style." Leon said laying back down with a smirk.

"So you agree with what I've been saying?" Render asked.

"Yeah, we should be grateful at least for having those two alive and with us." Leon said with a small smile.

"Then you agree that I know what I'm saying when I say that Apoch is sexier than Astreal." Render said proudly. Leon twitched a bit then looked to him with annoyance.

"I never agreed to that, Astreal's way hotter than Apoch." he said firmly.

"But if you think that, then that means you were wrong and they don't look exactly alike. And if you were wrong about that, then logically you're wrong with thinking that your girlfriend is sexier than mine." Render said arrogantly.

"There's no logic to that at all. Astreal has her feminine charm and appeal to her, she's more reserved and alluring than Apoch by far." Leon said sternly.

"I don't see how that can be when Apoch has those beautiful golden eyes and perfect figure." Render said proudly.

"They have the same figures you idiot, and Astreal's eyes are more beautiful than Apoch's." Leon barked out.

Outside their room the two mages were heard going back and forth with their discussion on which witch sister was more appealing, with yelling and cursing being heard as well. Standing outside their door Apoch and Astreal were listening with wide eyes, the sisters blushing more and more as each boy continued to argue about which one was better. They had been walking by toward their room for the night when they overheard the conversation, the two girls stopping and listening with wonder. Astreal was frozen in place as she heard her boyfriend talk about all her attractive features, the girl hearing how Leon found her to be more alluring than her sister. Next to her Apoch was staring with an open mouth, the witch hearing every part of her that Render found to be attractive while also talking about how he always wanted a girlfriend like her.

"Oh my…" Astreal said softly. Apoch blinked then smiled brightly, the witch then reaching out towards the door handle before Astreal grabbed her.

"What are you doing? We can't just barge into their room." Astreal said with a hushed tone as she tried to keep her sister back.

"I was merely going to bid Render goodnight, let me go." Apoch growled as she struggled to get free. Astreal held her back and shook her head as Apoch franticly tried to grab the door handle.

"You already said goodnight to him earlier, you can't just run into their room at this hour, it's not dignified." Astreal said with frustration.

"Then he can scold me all he wants, I don't mind. Let me go right now." Apoch said as the two stumbled around outside the door. Astreal tried to pull her away before Apoch formed her barrier, the blonde haired witch hitting against it and knocking her off balance. Apoch broke free from her sister's grip and rushed to the door only for Astreal to grab her by an arm and her hair, the two yelling and stumbling about. Apoch grabbed her sister's hand and tried to throw her to the side, the blonde haired witch then grabbing her sister around the waist and struggling to drag her away. The two stumbled around for a bit then barged through the door and dropped onto the ground. Astreal tried to hold her sister while lying on the ground while Apoch growled loudly as she tried to pull herself free. They paused and blinked then looked to seeing Render and Leon staring at them with surprise.

"Astreal? Apoch? What are you doing?" Leon asked sitting up. The girls got up to their feet and stammered something as they looked at their boyfriends with nervous smiles.

"Leon, um, hello. We were just…we didn't mean to…um…" Astreal said glancing down then back to him.

"We just wanted to say goodnight…again." Apoch said quickly. Render looked at her curiously and tilted his head a bit.

"Were you two eavesdropping on us?" he asked. Apoch jumped a bit then looked down with a nervous smile.

"Well…we…may have heard a few things…" she said softly. She glanced up to him with a timid smile as Astreal glanced away with a blush. Leon looked at them curiously then over to Render, the battlemage looking at his girlfriend with a curious eye. After a pause he nodded a bit then looked to Leon.

"Anyway, just face facts man, how long are you going to be in denial over this? The proof is right here before you." he said shaking his head while gesturing towards the sisters.

"Would you give it a rest already? They have the exact same physical features!" Leon cried out with exasperation. Astreal blushed a bit and glanced to Apoch, the witch standing proudly with her arms crossed before her. She glanced to Astreal and twitched her eyebrow a bit. Astreal looked at her with disbelief and shook her head.

"You're not agreeing with him are you? We're the same, we're made from the same spell." she said with annoyance.

"We may be from the same spell, but it appears that I have a more 'voluptuous' physique." Apoch said with a shrug.

"No you don't, we're the same from head to toe. Our only differences are hair and eye colors." Astreal said holding her hair with a frustrated expression. Apoch swayed from side to side while holding her arms below her chest, her breasts swaying about under her shirt as she had a coy smile.

"But Render says my figure is more attractive, how could that be unless we weren't the same?" she asked innocently.

"That's because Mr. Render is an idiot!" Astreal yelled out.

"He is not!" Apoch barked back.

"Yes he is." Leon said flatly.

"Do I get a say in this?" Render asked curiously.

"No!" Leon and Astreal yelled out at him. Apoch growled then grabbed Astreal's hair, the witch yanking on it as her sister yelled out.

"Take that back! My boyfriend isn't an idiot, he knows what he's talking about!" Apoch yelled out with anger. Astreal grabbed her arm and swung her down, the two sisters rolling around on the ground yelling at each other as Render and Leon watched curiously.

"He doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. We're the exact same! The _exact _same!" Astreal yelled back.

"Aside from the hair color, eye color, magic preference, and figures." Render said with a shrug. Leon growled then got off of his bed, the mage walking towards his friend with frustration.

"Would you get it through your head already, they're identical. How long are you going to keep going on and on about this, Apoch does _not _have bigger breasts than Astreal." he said with discontent. The two boys looked at each other with annoyance, then down as they heard a ripping sound followed by more yells from the two girls. Render just stared at something then looked to Leon while pointing to the girls on the ground.

"Yeah she does." he said simply. Leon blinked then looked up with a slight blush as more ripping sounds were heard. Render looked carefully at something then smiled proudly.

"Told you my girl was more endowed." he said looking to Leon with an arrogant smile.

"She is not!" Astreal's voice yelled as a blast of red light flew at the battlemage.

"Yes I am!" Apoch yelled as a barrier of light blocked the blast from hitting the boy.

"They're not bigger than mine, they're not!" Astreal cried out.

"Um, yes they are." Render said pointing between the two girls. Leon whacked him upside the head and glared at him.

"Stop looking at Astreal like that!" he yelled out.

"Well it's kinda hard not to see when they've torn their shirts off of each other." Render said defensively. The yelling stopped suddenly as Apoch and Astreal froze in place, the two girls locked into a struggle on the ground with their shirts in tatters around their shoulders. Apoch looked down at Astreal as she was holding her sister on the ground by the arms then glanced to see they were fully exposed in the front. Astreal looked with wide eyes at Apoch then glanced down. They cried out as they quickly stumbled back to their feet while holding their arms around their chests. Leon glanced to them then looked away as Render looked at Apoch curiously.

"Why did you rip my shirt off?" Astreal cried out looking at her sister.

"Why did you rip off mine?" Apoch said with embarrassment.

"How did neither of you notice until now?" Render asked puzzled. He was again whacked in the back of the head while Leon kept looking away.

"Stop looking at them man, show some class." he said with frustration. Astreal looked around quickly then smiled nervously at the boys.

"Um…I think we should get going, it's rather late and…we have a lot to do tomorrow. Goodnight, and…sorry about…um…well…" she said shakily.

"It's alright Astreal, just forget about it. Sleep well, we'll see you in the morning." Leon said with a wave, the boy still looking away with a slight blush. Apoch looked away then back to seeing Render walking up to her with a smile.

"Sleep well Apoch, and thanks for dropping by." he said before he kissed her, the girl sighing happily as she slipped her hands around his neck. She held him close with her bare chest pressing against his, the boy looking with a bit of surprise as she kissed him blissfully.

"Sister!" Astreal cried out. Apoch jumped back with a blush, the girl quickly covering herself as Render smiled amusingly at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…I mean I wasn't…" she stammered. He chuckled and winked at her.

"Don't say sorry for making sure I'll have sweet dreams tonight about my girl." he said calmly. Apoch looked at him with wonder as a faint blue aura flared around him for a brief moment. She blinked then jumped into a kiss with him, the girl holding him around his neck as he stumbled about a bit. He wasn't in his fighting form but to the witch he was just as attractive all the same. Astreal watched with wide eyes as her sister clung to the battlemage with a deep kiss while Leon face palmed.

"Sister!" Astreal said shaking her head. Apoch leaned back then jumped back down with a small smile, the witch covering herself again as she kept staring at her boyfriend. Render regained his balance then smiled curiously at the girl while Astreal grabbed her with one hand and started pulling her out.

"Would you get a grip, and try to have some self restraint, have you no shame?" Astreal said with annoyance. Apoch was pulled out of the room by her sister, the witch smiling at Render and blowing a kiss towards him with a wink before being yanked out of sight down the hall. Render watched them vanish from view then whistled a bit.

"Like I was saying, I hit the jackpot with-"

WHAM!

While Render twitched on the ground with a lump on his head Leon breathed out and looked back towards the doorway. He walked over and closed the door as Render murmured something in a daze.

"At least one of our girls had some self-control." he said flatly. He glanced to his friend and shook his head, then walked towards his bed while Render was on the ground in a daze. After a pause the mage slowly crawled towards and into his own bed, the boy laying down on it face first as he murmured something into his pillow. Leon glanced to him then looked back up at the ceiling.

"Just go to sleep." he said before closing his eyes. As he started to fall asleep while Render lost consciousness from the blow to his head, Apoch was being dragged down the hallway by her sister who had an embarrassed expression. She glanced down to her exposed breasts then looked ahead with worry while Apoch was still looking back down the hall with a loving smile.

"I can't believe Leon saw me like that. It's only our first day as boyfriend and girlfriend, what must he think of me?" Astreal asked worriedly.

"He's probably thinking that Render was right and that I have a bigger bust size." Apoch said with a snicker.

WHACK!

"You do not!" Astreal yelled as she dragged her dazed sister down the hall, the raven haired witch being pulled by one arm as she stumbled about with a lump on her head. As the sisters headed back towards their room they passed by another room where a couple was still wide awake. Inside the guestroom Razico was standing near the window looking out at the night sky, the warlock having a solemn expression as he watched the clouds slowly drift by overhead.

"There was no avoiding it." Ruby said gently. Razico looked over to see Ruby sitting on the single bed in the room, the witch looking at him with a bit of remorse.

"The only way we could have saved them was to attack the humans. If we didn't, our friends would have been executed." she said gently.

"I know, the only way we had to save them was to become the monsters mankind so despises." Razico said looking back out the window. Ruby looked down with a worried expression as Razico sighed and walked over to her, the warlock then sitting next to her.

"I suppose we did get lucky, we managed to get them all out safely, and even found Arial and Complica before anything happened to them. Still, our actions are going to cost us in terms of peace being formed between the two worlds." he said shaking his head.

"We'll figure out how to fix this, we're still alive after all. We won't let peace die out so easily." Ruby said looking to him with a small smile. Razico nodded then looked over to her with a slight smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take you off on this crazy adventure when I got back. I only wanted to take you away from the academy on good terms." he said gently.

"Razico, you didn't have to take on that job for the headmaster just for me, and you didn't have to pretend to be a thief in order to get closer to me either. I wanted to be with you ever since that night we met at Fairy Tale." Ruby said softly. Razico smiled a bit and gently brushed his fingers along her cheek, the witch slowly holding the hand with hers and nuzzling against it gently.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to go with you that night, but I'm glad our paths crossed again. As much treasure and fortune I searched for after that night, nothing could compare to the Ruby that slipped from my grasp." he said gently.

"Razico…" she said softly as she leaned towards him. He smiled gently and slid his hand around the back of her head, the warlock holding her as they kissed. After the kiss broke she looked at him with loving eyes as he held her close from around the waist.

"I'm just glad you're back again. I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left that day." she said softly.

"As I've never stopped thinking of you." he said gently. She looked down bashfully then glanced up to him.

"You know…all those nights you stayed at the academy…you didn't have to sleep in the dorm building. I would have gladly allowed you to sleep in my chambers with me. I would have preferred it over sleeping alone." she said softly. He smiled curiously as Ruby leaned back on the bed, the witch looking at him with loving eyes as she laid back and rested her head on the pillow.

"Really? You never once offered such a thing before." Razico said lying next to her on his side. She nodded and glanced away timidly.

_Ok, we're in bed together, it's just like you've been waiting for. Now, don't screw this up. Say something romantic, something from the heart. Tell him how much you dreamed about falling asleep in his arms, tell him how much you wished you could wake up to him every morning._

"I know, the truth is…I…" she said looking back to him. He leaned in closer to her, his face near hers as she blushed a bit. She glanced to his lips then into his eyes as she moved towards him slightly.

"I really…wanted…" she said as she started to close her eyes, the warlock holding her close and leaning closer to her still.

"Ruby…" he said softly.

"For you to…" she said as she felt his breath on her lips. He kissed her as she sighed happily, the witch holding him closer to him as they laid in bed together. When the kiss broke she looked up at him with loving eyes as he smiled down at the witch.

"Make me your toy." she said softly. She blinked then went wide eyes as she realized what she just said. Razico looked at her with a warm smile that slowly shifted into an awkward smile.

"What…was that?" he asked curiously. She sat up quickly as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, the witch looking away with a deep blush while holding her hands to her face.

"Ah! What I mean is…um…what I mean to say was…um…" she stammered.

"Ruby?" he asked curiously as he sat up next to her. She paused then looked to him with timid eyes.

"I…" she said shakily. She looked down as she covered her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry, forget I said that. I didn't mean to just blurt that out." she said worriedly. He looked at her curiously then down in thought as the witch tried to calm her mind. After a pause she looked away with worried eyes.

"I'm sorry Razico, it's just…" she started before she was pushed down onto the bed, the witch looking with wide eyes as Razico held her hands above her head while lying on top of her.

"Razico?" she said under her breath.

"Would this have anything to do with what you said to me before I left the academy that day?" he asked with a sly smile. She looked at him with wonder as he glanced down to her body then back into her eyes again.

"About you waiting for your 'punishment from your master'?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Ruby's blush intensified as she stuttered something. Razico smirked a bit as Ruby looked at him with a timid expression.

"Tell me Ruby, do you have a penchant for being controlled?" he asked as he started to form a black chain around her wrists. She looked up to seeing the warlock binding her hands together then back to him with wonder as he had a curious smile.

"I…um…" she said softly. He leaned back up and lifted Ruby with him, the witch then sitting next to him while he held her bound wrists with one hand.

"Whenever I bound you down like this before, you never once fought back. In fact, you only seemed to get excited by it. Why is that?" he asked with a knowing smile. She gulped and looked down with a bashful expression, the witch's heart beating faster as he held her close.

"Well…" she said quietly.

"Why, Ruby Tojo, you wouldn't happen to be a masochist, would you?" he asked leaning in closer to her. She looked at him timidly as he slowly moved his other hand around to the back of her neck, the witch staring at him with a blush as he watched her curiously. She glanced away with a slight smile as Razico chuckled a bit.

"I see, well I had no idea that I was teasing you so much all those times I bound you down. I didn't know you would be getting so hot over it." he said gently as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. She trembled a bit as she felt a cold feeling on the back of her neck, the witch then looking down with wonder as a black chain formed around her neck.

"Razico…" she said under her breath as he held the chain with one hand, the links tightening around her neck as he held her hands.

"So then, me holding you like this must really be torture for you. Right?" he asked playfully as he saw the witch closing her eyes as her mouth quivered a bit.

_Oh my god…he's…he's really…_

"Y…yes…" she said shakily as she looked to him with pleading eyes. He smiled confidently and stood up, the man holding the chain that was wrapped around her neck while her hands were bound together on her lap.

"Tell me, is this what you always wanted?" he asked as she stared up at him with wonder. She slowly nodded as her breathing was picking up, the witch watching the warlock with awe. He chuckled a bit and leaned in closer to her, the warlock gripping the chain and pulling her to him with a gasp.

"Well, I don't mind being rough with you Ruby, if that's what you truly want. I must say you do look good with those chains around you like that. However in return there is something I would like to ask of you." he said gently.

"Anything…anything Razico." she said softly. She felt her heart beating faster for the warlock, her body heating up from being controlled by him as he stood over her. He smiled slightly then leaned in closer to her ear, the witch trembling a bit from the feel of his breath on her neck.

"Stay with me, forever." he said softly. The witch looked at him with wonder as he leaned in close to her face.

"I love you Ruby, and I want you with me now and always." he said gently. The witch looked at him with a deep blush for a moment then nodded slowly with a loving smile.

"Of course…I'll be yours forever." she said softly. He smiled then leaned in and kissed her, the witch sighing happily as he held her close to him.

_Razico…I'm yours…now and forever..._

When the kiss ended he leaned back and smiled at Ruby, the witch slowly opening her eyes and looking at the warlock with a gentle gaze. She was then pulled closer to him by her leash as he stood up, the witch slowly standing up in front of him as he held her close.

"Razico…" she said under her breath.

"I thought that was master to you?" he said with a twitch of his eyebrow. Ruby blinked then smiled bashfully.

"Yes…master." she said with a small tear forming, the witch feeling overjoyed by her boyfriend's control over her. He smiled confidently at the witch then pulled her closer to him by her leash.

"Now then, about that punishment you so desired." he said slyly. Her eyes brightened slightly as she nodded slowly.

"Please…I beg of you. Use me master, however you wish." she said timidly. With one hand he held her close while undoing her dress in the front, the witch looking at him with longing eyes as her clothing dropped down around her feet. She trembled a bit with excitement as she kept her eyes locked onto him.

"The most beautiful treasure in the world, and she's all mine." he said before pulling her into a kiss. The witch sighed happily as he held her close, her body trembling slightly as she felt his hand slowly caress her back and rear. When the kiss ended she smiled bashfully as she was held close by the warlock, the witch holding her hands to his chest as they were chained together still.

"All yours Razico, now and forever." she said softly, the two then kissing again before slowly dropping back onto the bed.

While Ruby enjoyed her warlock's loving touch combined with the feeling of chains holding her down forcibly, another couple was in bed together while not engaging in such a romantic and carnal thing. Inside another guestroom Gin and Kokoa were lying in bed together, the couple naked with the boy leaning back against the pillow while Kokoa was next to him resting her head on his chest. Her hair was loose as her pigtails were let down while her eyes showed a troubled expression. Gin looked down to his girl as he had one hand holding her gently while the vampire was holding onto his chest.

"Kokoa? Are you ok?" he asked gently.

"No, I'm not ok. Your old high school friend is trying to take you away from me all while dragons are being drawn to her like a magnet, and she's sleeping down the hall right now." Kokoa said with a frustrated growl. Gin showed a concerned expression and held her close.

"She's not going to take me away from you Kokoa, she's-"

"She's a siren Gin, she could charm you away from me and you'd never be able to resist her. Arg! That bitch, who does she think she is, just coming back like this and expecting you to come running back to her. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it." Kokoa said with anger.

"Easy now Kokoa, calm down. If you start on fire while you're asleep you'll be fine, but I'll be burnt to a crisp." Gin said with a nervous smile. Kokoa trembled a bit then looked at him with worried eyes.

"You really did love her before?" she asked softly. Gin held a hand to her cheek as he held her close to him.

"I did feel something for her before, but that's behind us now. Just like when you felt something for Dark and Tsukune, it wasn't meant to be. I love you Kokoa, and just you." he said gently. She nodded then sat up a bit while looking at him curiously.

"You really filmed her while she was swimming in the pool at the academy?" she asked carefully. Gin smiled weakly and shrugged a bit.

"Well…yeah, but I'm not like that anymore remember?" he asked nervously. Kokoa nodded and looked down with worry. After a pause Gin smiled a bit and gently lifted her chin to face him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I filmed you too." he said with a wink. She stared at him with surprise as he smiled confidently at her.

"You did? When?" she asked.

"When you were walking to the academy in the morning a couple of times. Got some great shots of your legs and under your skirt from in the bushes." he said proudly. Kokoa looked at him with wonder then showed a curious expression.

"You filmed me…walking to school?" she asked softly.

"You bet, and in the girls changing room." he said with a nod.

"What? When, I never saw you in there." Kokoa said with wonder.

"Hey, werewolves are quick, remember? I managed to get some good shots of you while you were changing while hiding in one of the storage lockers. And also from the window at the side of the changing room." Gin said proudly. Kokoa stared at him with wonder then leaned in closer to him.

"You filmed me naked, in the girls changing room? Really?" she asked softly. He held her close and nodded.

"You bet, and you were by far the best piece of my collection. Moka and the others didn't even come close." he said assuredly. Kokoa looked at him with surprise then held a hand over her mouth.

"Did you…touch yourself while looking at them?" she asked quietly. He smiled calmly as he brushed a few hairs away from her face.

"You bet I did, you were a firecracker then just like you are now." he said gently. Kokoa stared at him with wide eyes as he smiled at her, the vampire then smiling lovingly at him while leaning in closer to him.

"Gin…you're the best boyfriend ever." she said before kissing him, the vampire having her arms around his neck as she laid on top of him. He held his girl close as a few rays of moonlight were seen through the nearby window. After the kiss ended the girl sat up on top of the wolf, her body having a bit of light on it as she smiled lovingly at her mate. Gin looked at his girl with a gentle smile, the wolf knowing he loved this young vampire without a doubt. He never thought admitting how perverted he was with her before would be a good thing, but for Kokoa it was comforting to know that her mate found her enchanting.

"I love you Kokoa." he said softly.

"I love you Gin, I really do." she said with warm smile. She then licked her lips and reached down under the covers below her, the girl shifting around a bit as Gin looked at her curiously.

"Kokoa?" he asked softly.

"I need this Gin. After today, I need you." she said as she slipped something of his into her from under the covers, the vampire letting out a soft grunt before leaning forward onto him. He smiled a bit as he held her around the waist, the vampire slowly moving up and down as she held onto her boyfriend.

"Kokoa, you'll always have me." he said before they kissed again, the girl holding onto her mate while slowly riding on top of him. She had been through a rough and violent day, was trapped in the human world with a darkness looming ahead, and had to deal with an old friend of Gin's suddenly appearing in their lives. After all she had been through with escaping from the human forces and nearly being killed, she needed the comfort and love of her wolf. The kiss broke as the girl leaned back a bit, her body being seen by a few rays of light as she gently rode atop her mate.

"You're damn…straight I will…I'm never letting you go…never." she said between breaths, the girl then kissing him and pushing the boy back down onto the bed. As they continued with their lovemaking into the night, one thought was crystal clear to the vampire.

_You're my wolf Gin, now and forever._

* * *

In a darkened room a girl was breathing heavily while her hands were bound down by her belt, her movements being slightly heard as she struggled to free herself franticly.

"This isn't happening…this isn't happening…" Mizore said as she tried to pull her hands free, the girl bound down securely by her demon as she normally preferred to be. However this time her desire to be taken by her fiancé was overshadowed by her frustration and anger towards Arial.

"Dammit…that…bitch!" she cried out softly as she struggled to free herself. She no longer felt the special wedding ring over her finger, the snow girl trying not to scream as she felt like a part of her was stolen with it by Arial. She thrashed around then stopped moving, the girl catching her breath as she was surrounded by darkness in the room.

"This is crazy, that girl's no angel, she's a horrible little demon. How could she be the one that freed my Dark? She's out of her goddamned mind." she said in disbelief. After a while the door opened and closed to the room, the snow girl feeling an evil presence moving towards her.

"Dark, is that you?" she asked softly. The bed shifted slightly as somebody sat next to her.

"I thought I taught you to be more aware than that my little snow bunny." Dark said with a slight tone of amusement. Mizore smiled softly as she covered her left hand with her right, the girl not wanting Dark to find out about her missing ring.

"Sorry, I'm just…" she said softly.

"A little warm? It's alright, I brought you some cold water." Dark said as he undid her belt and dropped it to the ground. Mizore slowly sat up, the girl sensing Dark right next to her even in the darkness. She slowly reached out with her right hand while keeping her left hidden down by her side, the girl feeling Dark handing her the cool glass of water. She smiled slightly and glanced to her side.

"You see perfectly even in the darkness, don't you?" she asked before drinking from the glass.

"Not with my eyes, no." Dark said with a calm tone. Mizore drank the cold water then smiled worriedly.

"Thank you Dark, I needed that." she said before Dark gently took the glass from her. She glanced down then back towards the bed with worry.

"Um, Dark?" she asked slowly.

"What is it Mizore? You sound troubled." Dark said gently. Mizore paused then glanced to where her demon was sitting next to her. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything about Arial. How the snow angel was the one that struck her down out of rage, how she was in love with Dark romantically, how she stole her wedding ring out of jealousy and spite.

But she couldn't bring herself to crush him, for him to hear that his guardian angel that he dedicated his life to was nothing like how everybody imagined her to be.

"I'm a bit shaken up still…after today. Would it be alright if…you just hold me tonight?" she asked softly.

"Of course Mizore." he said gently. Mizore nodded and laid down on the bed on her side, the girl feeling Dark laying down behind her and holding her close with one arm around her waist. She held onto his arm with her right hand while keeping her left hand under the pillow near her.

_I can't tell him, it'll break his heart to know what Arial is really like._

"I love you Dark, so much." she said softly, the girl holding back her tears as she felt the demon holding her close from behind. She had finally come face to face with the snow girl that originally freed her fiancé, something that she only dreamed of doing before. And she, like everybody else except for Dark, had found out that the snow girl that freed Dark was madly in love with the demon, and was determined to be with him not as a guardian angel, but as a wife. The snow angel had made it clear she wouldn't stand for anybody else being near her demon, with both mercilessly attacking Mizore on sight and stealing her wedding ring.

"I love you my Mizore, sleep well." he said before he kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes. She nodded slowly and held onto his arm securely, the snow maiden closing her eyes as she laid with her demon.

"You too, my beloved."


	15. on hold for now (Sept update)

This is a notice for all my readers for my story. For those of you that haven't read the news on my deviantart profile, this story is on hold until I finish my original story 'Chronicles of Eden'. My target date is this winter to have it finished and converted into an e-book as my first publication. Once it's finished I will resume this story once again. I know it's a long wait, and many of you were eager to see what would happen next, but I do have my priorities and CoE is one of them. Don't worry though, this story will not be forgotten and left unfinished, so any rumors or talk about this story being abandoned are false.

However, as a little something to keep you interested, here is a quick 'preview' of whats to come in Act VI, in true movie preview style. If you don't want any hints at all as to whats coming up then don't read on.

* * *

_"It's almost time..." the dark voice in the shadows said with a chuckle._

Moka and her group stared with surprise at seeing Felucia carrying Luna and running into the compound, the doll demon calling out for help as the chronofly was in a catatonic state.

_"My army is almost set..."_

Arial growled with anger as she watched Dark hold Mizore outside near a tree, the snow angel keeping a tight grip over the crystal ring in her hand. The ground under the angel froze over as her hair turned to ice.

_"My time to rule has nearly come..."_

Inside lord Issa Shuzen's castle Talon walked forward across a large elegant hall, the boy's wings and blades extended out as Akua and Kahlua stood next to the empty throne with cautious expressions.

_"All will bow before their one and only king..."_

Tsukune swung forward with a powerful punch, the boy's black and crimson eyes glaring as his aura flared around him like a violent storm. As he struck a large demon and blasted it into bloody pieces Ren watched from high above, the siren flying in place and watching the vampire her heart was beating for.

_"And my darkness..."_

Deep underground Pandora's Box glowed in a soft light, the relic waiting for the four souls that would try to open it to claim their one wish.

_"Will be eternal."_

All across a human city people were stopping and looking up at the sky. Cars screeched to a halt as people were pointing and staring with wide eyes at the sight. Up above across the blue sky a dark void seemed to spiral around down towards the ground, the anomaly making a loud whirring noise as lightning arced around it.

_"We're not students anymore..." Moka said in a solemn tone._

Kokoa focused all her vampire energy as she stood with flames flaring around her, the girl having her eyes focused ahead of her as her overcharge skyrocketed her power higher and higher. The ground below her was cracked and scorched as her normal school uniform she was wearing remained perfectly intact within the fire.

_"We're not just kids..."_

Kurumu yelled out with a powerful war cry as she flew towards a large dark scaled beast as the sky above was dark and stormy, the girl's wings burning ablaze as she had her nails extended out. She struck at the monster with a powerful swing as lightning struck down around them illuminating the human city and people running away screaming.

_"We're not just monsters..."_

Gin slowly stood upright amidst a crowd of frightened humans, the boy in his werewolf form as he stared at a larger dark scaled spider demon. Gin let out a loud roar before charging forward and tackling into the demon, the two crashing into a building as people screamed and watched with wide eyes.

_"We're the ones risking our lives to save this world..."_

Apoch slid down a slanted roof of a tall building in a human city, the witch riding on her shield as the glass windows below her cracked and shattered as she raced by. She armed her sword in one hand as she raced towards a giant winged demon, the red eyed monster roaring as it's large feathered wingspan kept it above the city below.

_"We're the ones taking up the fight to save this world..."_

Ruby ran ahead of a crowd of humans and waved her wand fiercely before her, the witch erecting a purplish barrier of light just as a large stream of fire shot towards them. The flames blasted around the barrier as people watched with stunned expressions, all while Ruby glared ahead as she focused her magic.

_"And we will not fail."_

Rin screamed as she arched back, the girl's eyes shifting to a deep red as she grabbed her headphones.

Arial and Mizore slowly walked around in a circle while glaring at each other, the ground below them freezing over as snow flurries flew around.

Kokoa and Sun glanced to each other with small glares, both girls on a stage under the night sky next to a beach wearing bikinis while dancing for the crowd of people, or at least for Gin who was at the front of the crowd.

Kyouko and Falla screamed as they were thrown through a window at Yokai Academy by a fiery explosion, the girls flying out into the courtyard as a vicious storm raged overhead.

Talon shot out of a crowd towards a man in a business suit standing on a stage, the boy flying towards the human with his wings before striking the man through the chest with his wraith blade. The crowd screamed as Talon lifted the human up with one arm while glaring at him with anger.

Falla and Complica looked at each other through what appeared to be a strange gateway, the rift having red and black flames flaring around the edges as the middle was a clear image of what was on the other side. They each held a hand against the barrier, neither touching the others hand, as Falla smiled with a teary eye.

Moka shifted into her other self, her hair turning silver as her eyes turned crimson. Her bust and hip sizes increased as she stood ready for battle, the vampire holding a coiled whip in one hand.

_**"We will not let this world fall..."**_

A bright light shot up out of Pandora's Box, the relic's lid shattering apart as a pulse wave shot out from the opened box. The underground cavern lit up brightly as the strange colorful lights from the box flowed upwards in bright streaks.

_**"We will not let the light vanish from our world..."**_

Ahakon was thrown through a window and plummeted towards the city streets below, the glass shards flying off as the mage tumbled down in the air. From the same window Yukari leapt out and dove down towards the mage, the girl screaming his name as they fell towards the ground far down below.

**_"Whoever is responsible for this nightmare..."_**

Mizore and Felucia went back to back as they aimed a handgun each, the girls firing round after round as all around them was darkness in a narrow corridor. Each flash of the gunshots illuminated the area around them as dark figures with red eyes were charging from both sides.

_**"We'll be sure to show him his place."**_

Luna stared with shock and horror at something, the girl shakily taking a breath and shaking her head. She choked back a sob then shook her head violently.

"NO!"

* * *

Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness Act VI will resume this winter. There is no avoiding the darkness...

* * *

September Preview Update:

_"I'm so tired of waiting..." a young girl's voice said with a bored tone._

Deep underground below the ruins of the dead troll kingdom a powerful relic lay in wait, waiting for four treasure hunters to open it in a bid for a single wish of their desire.

_"It's so boring. So peaceful, so quiet, so...frustrating." the voice said with annoyance._

Walking up towards the forbidden chest which cast the surrounding area into a soft glow a figure could be seen.

_"How much longer must I wait to play? How much longer must I wait to have my turn to enjoy the world? How much longer..." the voice said with an odd giggle._

Dressed with black sandals, a dark blue miniskirt with black swirls, a white sleeveless shirt, and gray fingerless gloves, the girl walked up towards the mystical artifact, her hair being silver with thin streaks of black through it while being set in two long messy pigtails with dark blue ribbons. She was the same size as Yukari, her left eye being blue as her right was yellow. She smiled playfully as she gently ran a hand along the artifact's edge.

"How much longer before my lovelies can come out to play?" she asked with a dark gleam in her eye. She paused then slowly glanced up with a sly grin.

"Pandora." a dark voice called from above. The girl chuckled with an odd rhythm then looked up with a twisted smile.

"Yes...daddy?" she asked with a soft voice.

"Your time to play is over." the dark voice said from above, seeming to echo throughout the underground cavern. The girl giggled a bit as she hopped up effortlessly onto the box, the girl sitting on the edge as her legs playfully kicked around.

_"No no daddy..."_

One key to Pandora's box slid in from a figure's hand.

_"I don't want to stop playing..."_

The second key was inserted in at the same time.

_"I never want to stop playing..."_

The third key slid in as the other two waited to turn at the precise moment.

_"Never...never...never..." the girl said in an angry voice._

The fourth key was inserted into the box with a soft click.

_"And once my time comes daddy..."_

The four keys turned at the same time, all four unlocking the artifact with a bright flash. Pandora looked down with a devilish smile and a twisted giggle as she appeared faintly inside the glowing stream of light coming from the opened relic.

_"I'm going to play forever and ever with my lovelies..."_

"Your wish will be granted, whatever it may be. However in order for such a reward to be given, you must prove your worth to me. I'll give you whatever it is you seek, be it money, fame, power, it doesn't matter to me. I'll do this for you without fret, if you manage to survive what comes next!" Pandora said before laughing manically, her voice carrying out over the screaming roar that came from the light erupting from the box.

_"Then the world will be my playground once again."_

"What have you done?" Ceal said with anger.

"Not good, not good!" Render shouted out shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I thought we wanted the box to be opened." Apoch said glancing to him with worry.

"We did, but..." Leon said shaking his head slowly.

"But what?" Astreal said looking towards the relic.

"Not...by them." Falla said with fear, the girl staring with wide eyes at seeing Arial, Complica, Yukari, and Ahakon looking back to them with worry, the four who opened the box together.

"What do you mean...not by us?" Arial asked slowly as they all looked back to the relic before a bright flash blasted upwards.

_"Time to play my lovelies! HAHAHAHAHA!"  
_


End file.
